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POLAND OF TO-DAY AND 
YESTERDAY 



WORKS OF 

NEVIN O. WINTER 

* 

Mexico and Her People of To-Day (new 

revised edition) ----- $3.00 

Guatemala and Her People of To-Day - 3.00 

Brazil and Her People of To-Day - - 3.00 

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john sobieski ( see page 67 ) 






Poland of 0o-Sag 
and 

ffHlerdajj 

A Review of its History, past and present, and 
of the Causes which resulted in its Partition, 
together with a survey of its social, polit¬ 
ical, and economic conditions, to-day 


$8 

Neuttt 05. Winter 

ll 

Author of “ Mexico and Her People of To-Day,” 
“ Brazil and Her People of To-Day,” “ The 
Russian Empire of To-Day and 
Yesterday,” etc. 


Wustratrb 



L. C. PAGE & COMPANY 
BOSTON MDCCCCXIII 

















Copyright , 1913, by 
L. C. Page & k Company 

(incorporated) 

All rights reserved 


First Impression, September, 1913 


TEIE COLONIAL PRESS 
C. H. SIMONDS & CO., BOSTON, U. 8. A. 








PREFACE 


The doctrine of individualism has many adher¬ 
ents to-day, and its numbers seem to be on the in¬ 
crease. These devotees believe, or claim to believe, 
that the absolute freedom of action of the individual 
is of more importance than the welfare of organized 
society. To this school of sentimentalists the au¬ 
thor would recommend a study of Poland and the 
causes that led to her downfall. 

Individualism had been developed in Poland to 
the highest degree among those representing the 
privileged classes. Although the nobles did not 
number one-twentieth of the total population, they 
assumed to themselves all the prerogatives of gov¬ 
ernment and ignored the claims of the great major¬ 
ity. All of the Poles were brave and lovers of lib¬ 
erty, but the nobles would brook no interference 
with their freedom of action as individuals. The 
rule of the majority was abrogated in all their leg¬ 
islative bodies. A single protesting negative could 
stop all governmental machinery. Many of the 
powerful nobles were unwilling to bow to the will 
of a majority running into the thousands — such 
yielding was considered base and ignoble. Because 
of the jealousy of the nobles the king was gradually 
reduced to the position of a mere figurehead: the 
national army became a nonentity for the same rea- 



VI 


Preface 


son — it was surpassed in numbers by the armed 
retainers of some of the leading nobility. Exces¬ 
sive individualism on the part of the Polish aris¬ 
tocrats led to selfishness, arrogance, corruption, and 
various other evils. Few of the privileged classes 
could see beyond their own petty needs or desires. 
As a result, Poland became a mere loose confed¬ 
eration of supercilious and self-indulgent nobles, 
each jealous of the others; each determined to pre¬ 
serve his own independence and prerogatives at all 
costs. Interest in and a desire for the general good 
and public welfare had disappeared almost entirely. 

While Poland was thus becoming weakened, the 
nations adjoining her borders were developing 
along different lines. Both Prussia and Russia 
were concentrating power in the throne and build¬ 
ing up an army sufficient to maintain the national 
dignity. Catherine the Great and Frederick the 
Great became contemporaries on the thrones of 
Russia and Prussia respectively. These ambitious 
sovereigns were too shrewd and far-sighted for a 
nobility blinded and overwhelmed by a sense of its 
own importance. When the inevitable conflict came, 
Poland was unprepared to meet her aggressive 
neighbours. Self-centred Polish nobles invited 
armed interference from these rulers, just as their 
forefathers had been doing for a century or more. 
To such a low level had the idea of individualism 
led them in the furtherance of their selfish plans. 
A realization of the real conditions came too late. 
A new constitution was evolved, but it was soon 
annulled. The insurrection headed by the brave 
and fearless Kosciuszko, which was a spontaneous 



Preface 


vii 


outburst of national patriotism, simply brought the 
third partition, which left the last king without a 
kingdom, and all the Poles became subjects of other 
and alien powers. The attempt to maintain abso¬ 
lute freedom of action to the individual, and the 
failure to recognize the rights of society as a whole, 
resulted in a denationalization of Polish sovereignty 
and the imposition of humiliating conditions upon 
noble and peasant alike. This, in brief, is the les¬ 
son that a study of Poland can teach the Anglo- 
Saxon of to-day. 

It is almost a hundred years since the Congress 
of Vienna settled the final fate of Poland, after the 
meteoric career of Napoleon had ended. The Grand 
Duchy established by him in return for the loyal 
services rendered by the famous Polish Legions was 
again parcelled out, and the inhabitants became 
technically Russians, Prussians and Austrians. 
But a century of such conditions has not lessened 
the patriotism of the Poles — the patriotic fires 
burn as brightly as ever within every Polish breast. 
Such loyalty to birth and tradition cannot do other¬ 
wise than excite the sympathy of a liberty-loving 
people. It must be remembered that only a small 
minority of the people were responsible for the 
conditions that led to anarchy, and then disruption. 

Poles are seeking our shores in great numbers, 
and it is well to know who they are, and why they 
come. Their blood will enter into the composite 
American type that will eventually be evolved. Is 
it good blood, or is it bad blood? A study of the 
history of Poland and the conditions still existing 
in the land of their birth furnishes the best answer. 



Preface 


With the hope and in the belief that this volume 
answers in a measure at least these questions, this 
work, the result of extensive travel and considerable 
study, is given to the public. 

Nevin O. Winter. 

Toledo, Ohio, August 20, 1913. 



CONTENTS 


Preface . 


CHAPTER I 

The Land and the People 

Division of Poland — Rivalry of Poland and Russia — The Slavs 

_Individualism — Classes — Government — The liberum veto 

_Utopia realized — Arrogance of Nobility — Decadence — 

Religion — Polish hopes. 


CHAPTER II 

The Beginning of Polish Nationality 

The early chroniclers — Piast family — Mieczyslaw I — Con¬ 
version to Christianity — Boleslaw I — St. Adalbert — Czechs 
and Prussians — Mieczyslaw II — Casimir I — Boleslaw II 

— The martyr bishop — Boleslaw III — Loss of Silesia — 
Casimir the Just — Teutonic Knights — Casimir the Great 

— Louis of Hungary — Jadwiga. 


CHAPTER III 
Lithuania and the Jagiellos 

The Lithuanians — A pagan stronghold — Mindvog — Gedimin 
— Livonian Knights — Vilna — Olgerd — Jagiello — Union 
with Poland — Conversion of Lithuanians — Cracow be¬ 
comes capital — Wladislas III — Casimir IV — Prussians be¬ 
come vassals — John Albert — Alexander — Sigismund I — 
Sigismund Augustus. 


CHAPTER IVi 

The Early Elected Kings 

The Pacta Conventa — Election of Henry — His flight — Stephen 
Batory — His marriage to Anne — The Cossacks — The 
Jesuits — Sigismund III — Poles capture Moscow — Wladis¬ 
las IV — The Uniates — John Casimir — Rebellion of Cos¬ 
sacks — Zbaraz — War with Sweden — Casimir abdicates . 






V1U 


Contents 


PAGE 

CHAPTER V 
John Sobieski 

Michael Korybut — Election of Sobieski — Turkish Invasion of 
Austria — Sobieski’s great victory at Vienna — His political 
troubles — His marital troubles — Loss of Kiev and Smo¬ 
lensk — His death.67 


CHAPTER VI 

The Beginning of Decadence 

The Electors of Saxony — Augustus II takes the Polish throne — 

Peter the Great and Charles XII — Stanislaus Leszczynski — 
Religious intolerance — Russia becomes dominant — Augus¬ 
tus III — The Saxon rule unfortunate.80 

CHAPTER VII 
The First Partition 

Catherine the Great — Frederick the Great — Maria Theresa — 

The conspiracy and the conspirators — The division of the 
spoils — The Czartoryski — Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski 

— His liaison with Catherine — His election — Troubles be¬ 
gin early — Confederation of Bar — Abduction of Stanislaus 

— Pulaski.92 


CHAPTER VIII 
The Second Partition 

Abandon of capital — Polish women — Russian influence — 
Insults to Stanislaus — Period of progress — The rebellious 
triumvirate — Four Years’ Diet — Blindness to real condi¬ 
tions — New constitution — Prussian ^influence — Felix 
Potocki — Russia declares war — Joseph Poniatowski — The 
Dumb Diet. 


CHAPTER IX 

Kosciuszko: An International Hero 

Youth of Kosciuszko — Disappointment in love — Enlists under 
Washington — Returns to Poland — Declared dictator — 

His oath — Raclawice — Defeated by Suvarov — Third Par- 
tition — Death of Stanislaus — Kosciuszko revisits America 
His will — Correspondence with Alexander I — Death . 131 

CHAPTER X 
After the Dismemberment 

The Polish Legions — Dombrowski — Napoleon — Grand Duchy 
oi Warsaw Moscow disaster — Death of Joseph Poniatow- 
, 1 ~ fourth partition — The Kingdom of Poland — Rev¬ 
olution of 1830 — Free city of Cracow — Trouble in Galicia 
— Uprising of 1863 . 140 







Contents 


IX 


PAGE 

CHAPTER XI 

The Capital of Poland’s Glory 

Journey from Vienna — A republic — An old city — University 
of Cracow — Wawel — Many churches — Cathedral and 
royal tombs — Jagiello Library — The Plante — The Rynek 
— The Sukiennice — Market — Municipal custom — The 
Kazimierz — Jews.166 


CHAPTER XII 

The Capital of Poland’s Decay 

Founding of city — Geographical centre of Europe — Vistula 
River — Russian soldiers — Zamek — Stare Miasto — Ghetto 

— Photographing — A progressive city — Lazienki Park — 

Praga — Courts — Caf6s — Willanow.182 

CHAPTER XIII 

Germany and Her Polish Subjects 

Routes — Thorn — Agricultural prosperity — Gnesen — Posen 

— Imperial Palace — Rathaus — The Reichstag — Polish 
paintings — Dislike of Slav — Suppression of language — Bis¬ 
marck — Pan - Germanism — Colonization Commission — 

Petty regulations.* • • 199 


CHAPTER XIV 

Austria and Her Polish Subjects 

Galicia — Ruthenians — Austria-Hungary — Mixture of races 

— Many religions — Pan-Slavism — Agricultural poverty — 
Wieliczka — An underground city of salt — Polish freedom 

— Lemberg—Passports.212 

CHAPTER XV 

Russia and Her Polish Subjects 


Kingdom of Poland — Peasants — Costumes — Irish and Poles 
— Russification policy — Commercial prosperity — Lodz — 
Polish retaliation — Strikes — Socialism — Duma — Maria- 
vites — Border patrol — Smuggling — Passport System — 
Lithuania — Vilna.223 


CHAPTER XVI 
The Nobles 

A wedding — Improvidence — Palatines and castellans — The 
Pans —A noble’s retinue — Wealth — Elaborate entertain¬ 
ments — Retainers and courtiers — Sports — Banquets — 
Drinking — Barbaric display — Genealogies — Patriarchal 
government — Hospitality — Women.244 








X 


Contents 


PAGE 

CHAPTER XVII 
The Peasant and His Religion 

Ignorance — Tillers of the soil — Lot of women — Villages — 
Holidays — Tatra — The “ Goorals ” — Importance of relig¬ 
ion — Shrines — Priests — Churches — Pilgrimages — Czen- 
tochowa — Mendicants.265 

CHAPTER XVIII 

The Polish Jew 

Earlocks — Early migrations — Special privileges — The Golden 
Age — The Kahal — The proletariat — Repulsive villages — 
Ghetto — Women — Marriage broker — The Pale — Perse¬ 
cutions — The halat — The Bund — Talmudists — Rabbis — 
Narrow religious outlook.280 

CHAPTER XIX 
Literature and Art 

Early legends — Reformation — Latin poets — First printing 
press -— Peter Skarga — Copernicus — Effect of partitionings 
— Niemcewicz — Mickiewicz — Slowacki — Krasinski — 

“ P& n Tadeusz ” — Lelewal — Sienkiewicz — The “ Tril¬ 
ogy ” — Newspapers — Painters — Chopin — Paderewski — 
Madam Modjeska.302 


CHAPTER XX 
The Poles in America 

Early immigrants — Millions of American Poles — Chief centres 
— Agriculturists — Spirit of independence — Education — 
t rugahty — Americanization — Idealism — Eminent Ameri¬ 
can Poles —- Polish press — Fraternal organizations — Edu¬ 
cational institutions — The duty of Americans .... 323 


Appendices 

Index 


337 

345 








LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


Tomb of Mieczyslaw I and Boleslaw I, Posen . 



27 v' 

Tomb of Casimir III, the Great, Cracow 



35 v’ 

Sigismund 11 Augustus. 



4G 

Henry, Duke of Anjou (afterwards Henry III, King 
France). 

OF 

50 

Stephen Batory. 



54, 

Peter the Great. 



82 

Stanislaus Leszczynski. 



84 

Maria of Poland, Wife of Louis XV, King of France 



88 

Augustus III. 



90 

Map of Poland. 



92 i 

Frederick the Great .. 



94 

Maria Theresa.. 



99 

Stanislaus II.. 



106 

Catherine the Great. 



122 

Prince Joseph Poniatowski. 



124 

Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventura Kosciuszko . 



132 

The Kosciuszko Mound, near Cracow 



148 

Alexander I . 



158 * 

Chlopicki. 



160 

The Wawel, Cracow. 



170 

The Old Florian Gate, Cracow. 



175, 

176/ 

The Sukiennice, Cracow. 



The Market Place, Cracow. 



178 

A Cracow Jew. 



180/ 

A Russian Lieutenant of Police .... 



184 / 

General View of Warsaw from Praga . 



186 1/ 

Statue of Copernicus, Warsaw. 



188/ 

The Stare Miasto, Warsaw. 



190/ 

The Palace of Willanow. 



196 

River Scene, Posen. 



202 . 

An Ancient House, Posen. 



204 

















xii List of Illustrations 


PAGE 

The Rathaus, Posen. 206/ 

Ruthenian Peasant Girls, and their Foreman, Galicia . 212/ 

A Polish Cottage, Galicia.218/ 

The Theatre, Lemberg. 220/ 

Polish Girls at Work in the Field. 224/ 

A Peasant Woman, Russian Poland. 226/ 

Russian Soldiers. 237/ 

The Holy Gateway, Vilna.241 / 

A Polish Noble’s Home . 260/ r 

Polish Women carrying Mortar, Cracow .... 268/ 

Polish Bride and Groom. 270/ 

A Typical Polish Jew. 280/ 

Scene in the Jewish Quarter, Warsaw . 289/ 

Nikolaus Copernicus. 306/ 

Statue of Adam Mickiewicz, Posen. 309/ 

Henryk Sienkiewicz.316 f 

Frederic Francois Chopin. 320 / 
















POLAND OF TO-DAY 
AND YESTERDAY 


CHAPTER I 

THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE 

Division of Poland — Rivalry of Poland and Russia — The Slavs — 
Individualism — Classes — Government — The liberum veto — 
Utopia realized — Arrogance of Nobility — Decadence — Re¬ 
ligion— Polish hopes. 

Poor Poland! 

Many are they who have uttered that exclamation 
as they have read the history of this unfortunate 
nation. The disappearance from the family of na¬ 
tions of a country which had existed for eight hun¬ 
dred years is so unusual that it is not easily under¬ 
stood. A feeling of sympathy occurs to many as 
they travel over those parts of Russia, Germany and 
Austria which were formerly a part of Poland. One 
writer has characterized Poland as the knight 
among nations, and the term is not illy applied. 
Many of its acts were as erratic and irresponsible 
as those of any knight-errant of history. 

“ He is only a Pole,” says some Anglo-Saxon, 
when he sees a rather short, stocky man working 
1 



2 


Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


with a pick or shovel on the streets of one of our 
great cities. And yet this same Anglo-Saxon prob¬ 
ably prides himself on his birth because of the 
achievements of some of his English-speaking an¬ 
cestors. He may be willing to concede the element 
of greatness to a few Germans, French and Italians, 
but he speaks of the Slav as though the latter were 
in some way an inferior. 

“ What have the Poles ever done? ” some one, 
who is acquainted only with the members of that 
nationality who toil with their hands, may ask. 

It was a Pole, Nikolaus Copernicus, who first 
taught that the sun was the centre of the solar sys¬ 
tem, and thus founded modern astronomy. It was 
John Sobieski, another Pole, who defeated the 
Turks at Vienna, and by that victory stopped an 
invasion of the followers of Mohammed which 
threatened to overrun all Europe. Thaddeus Kos- 
ciuszko, a native of Poland, enlisted with the Amer¬ 
ican forces under Washington, and proved one of 
his most effective helpers. He was given a vote of 
thanks by Congress after the Revolutionary War 
was over, and returned to his own troubled country 
to help fight her battles. J ohn Huss, the forerunner 
of Luther, and the real herald of the Reformation, 
although classed as a Bohemian, was a Slav; and 
the Poles and Bohemians are first cousins. Other 
Poles in later years have likewise achieved distinc¬ 
tion. Helen Modjeska, the eminent tragedian, was 



3 


The Land and the People 

of Polish birth. Henry Sienkiewicz, the author of 
4 4 Quo Vadis,” is of the same nationality, as is 
Paderewski, the eminent pianist and composer. 
Many other famous writers and musical composers, 
both old and modern, have been Polish by birth. 
The Pole really has something to boast of as well as 
the Anglo-Saxon. 

Russia, Germany and Austria, however, through 
their grasping and covetous sovereigns, decided to 
divide Poland among themselves. It was not diffi¬ 
cult to find a pretext for war when conscience was 
stifled. As a result there were three different dis¬ 
tributions and partitionings, and then Poland ex¬ 
isted in name only. The last distribution of spoils 
was more than a century ago. The very name of 
Poland disappeared in 1846, when the little republic, 
with its capital at Cracow, was absorbed bodily by 
Austria, with the consent of the Powers of Europe. 

Of the three countries that participated in the dis¬ 
integration of Poland, Austria treats her Polish 
subjects the best. They are allowed practical au¬ 
tonomy in their government, and are subjected to 
no persecution whatever. Germany is using every 
effort to denationalize her Poles, and abolish the 
language. She is at work just as hard as can be to 
crush out the national spirit. But if they cannot 
study their language in the schools, the Poles study 
it and are taught it secretly by the priests in their 
homes. The language has become almost a fetish to 



4 


Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


the Pole. To maintain it as a living tongue, and 
leave it as a heritage to his children, he will suffer 
and sacrifice much. 

Russia might have stood best with the Poles at 
large had she been wise, because both races are 
Slavs. 44 Might have been ” and 44 being,” how¬ 
ever, are two entirely different terms, and it would 
be a difficult matter to find a Pole who would say 
a good word for the czar. The Poles, in many re¬ 
spects, stand out superior in culture, energy and 
civilization to the Russians proper. And Russia 
possesses the real marrow of old Poland. 

Poland was already a European power, with in¬ 
stitutions more or less similar to those of Western 
Europe, while Russia was still largely Asiatic in 
character. It was a racial antagonism that arose 
between the two peoples which never ended until 
one succumbed. As Pushkin, the great Slav poet, 
says: 

44 Already long ago amongst ourselves 
These races twain.have carried on a war; 

And more than once, first we, then they again, 

Beneath the alien terror have succumbed.” 

In the early part of the seventeenth century Po¬ 
land had the upper hand. The very heart of Russia 
acknowledged her rule. The King of Poland had 
been asked to send his son to rule over Moscow. He 
responded to the invitation, and the sacred Kremlin 
was occupied by Poles. But Sigismund asked too 



The Land and the People 


5 


much; he refused to surrender the Catholic faith. 
Demanding too much, he lost all. When the oppor¬ 
tunity came, the Poles were as overbearing and un¬ 
yielding as the Russians proved to be later when the 
tide had turned. A spirit was developed among the 
Muscovites by their adversity which cemented their 
patriotism. A prince and a butcher led the Russian 
nationalists, and the Poles were expelled. It is an 
interesting matter for speculation, whether, had the 
Poles succeeded in retaining the upper hand, the 
Russians would have sent weeping patriots to the 
courts of Europe. Such a result would doubtless 
have followed, for there would have been a denation¬ 
alizing of Muscovy. 

Polish nationality had its beginning in what is 
now Eastern Germany. The name implies the 
“ dwellers of the plains. 4 ” We do not know much 
about the authentic history of Poland until one of 
her kings, Mieczyslaw, became a Roman Catholic in 
order to marry a Bohemian princess, which gave the 
Latin stamp to her civilization. This king then re¬ 
ceived Bohemia as her dowry. Boleslaw the Brave 
followed, and with his victorious armies extended 
his kingdom to the Baltic Sea. Boleslaw II killed a 
bishop in a fit of anger, but, being pursued by the 
avenging arm of the Church, died in exile. Several 
kings followed who loved the cup too much to hold 
the sceptre straight. At last Jadwiga, or Hedwiga, 
married Jagiello, afterwards known as Wladislas II, 



6 


Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


under the advice of her counsellors, in order to gain 
the territory of Lithuania. The proudest days of 
Polish history are connected with this house of 
Jagiello. Then follow successively Sigismund I, 
John Casimir, Stephen Batory, John Sobieski, and 
other great fighters. Name after name occurs of 
kings who are practically forgotten by all save the 
Poles themselves. 

At one time Poland was the greatest power in 
Central Europe, and was the chief representative 
of the Slavonic race. The Slavs are divided into 
many branches, among which are the Russians, Bul¬ 
garians, Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, and 
Wends. The Russians are subdivided into the Great 
Russians, Little (Malo) Russians and White Rus¬ 
sians. The Poles resemble the Czechs more than 
any of the other Slavonic branches, although the 
latter are more sober and less volatile than the 
former. The Poles themselves were distinguished 
by dialectical differences. The original Slav tongue 
is unknown, although the Bulgars claim to be the 
oldest of the Slavs. The dialects differ widely to¬ 
day. All are highly inflected, having terminations 
to mark the seven cases and the genders, but there 
is no article. The Russians and Bulgarians use the 
Cyrillian alphabet, which is partly copied from the 
Greek, but the Poles use the Latin. They employ a 
number of diacritical marks, however, which give 
the letters different sounds, so that their alphabet 




The Land and the People 


7 


is really more extensive than the English. The 
Polish language has doubtless wandered farther 
from the original Slavonic than the Russian, for it 
has been more under foreign influence. Many Ger¬ 
man words will be found in it. The Jesuits intro¬ 
duced many Latin words with Polish terminations, 
and many French words were likewise taken over. 
In fact, the language has probably continued in 
greater purity since the dismemberment than be¬ 
fore, for the Poles have found the native tongue the 
greatest bond of union. 

An extremeness in temperament is a characteris¬ 
tic of the Slav. It can be traced in the Russian as 
well as in the Pole. In the midst of the most auto¬ 
cratic government in the world, we find the most 
democratic institution—the village commune. A 
people naturally good-natured and charitable in 
their views are guilty of the most cruel punishments 
on the part of the government, and of almost in¬ 
human reprisals on the part of subjects. So it is 
and always has been with the Poles. They were and 
still are idealists. Poland was called a republic — 
Rzeczpospolita — in reality, it was an elective mon¬ 
archy. And yet it was a sort of constitutional mon¬ 
archy long before the other nations of Europe both¬ 
ered themselves about constitutions. 

Individualism was the death of Poland. “ It 
was/’ says Mr. Brandes, “ an enthusiastic and un¬ 
practical people, noble-minded and untrustworthy, 



8 


Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 

pomp-loving and volatile, vivacious and thoughtless, 
a people who despised severe and fatiguing labour, 
and loved all intense and delicate, sensuous and in¬ 
tellectual enjoyments, but, above all, who wor¬ 
shipped independence to the point of insanity, free¬ 
dom to the extent of the liberum veto , and who, when 
they had lost independence and freedom, remained 
faithful to their old love.” 

Poland is the only example afforded by history 
of a nation deliberately committing self-destruction 
for the sake of absolute individual liberty. But it 
was a liberty only of the landowners, some thou¬ 
sands of selfish country gentlemen who refused to 
pay any taxes. There were originally two classes 
of peasants, the free and the bound, but all had been 
gradually reduced to the condition of serfs. They 
were finally forbidden to possess property in land. 
In no other country has the entire destiny of the 
state been so absolutely dependent upon the charac¬ 
ter, disposition and habits of the nobles. 

The inhabitants of Poland were really divided 
into five classes: the nobles, the clergy, the burgh¬ 
ers, the peasants, and the Jews. The aristocrats 
themselves practically divided the people into only 
two classes, the nobles and the ignobles. From the 
earliest days, however, the clergy occupied an im¬ 
portant position in Poland. The Church owned 
immense estates, and the bishops had seats in the 
Senate. They were usually appointed by the king 



The Land and the People 


9 


and confirmed by the Pope. The burghers included 
the tradesmen and artisans, and they were, for the 
most part, composed of Germans and Jews, and, in 
some places, Armenians. The burghers were gen¬ 
erally governed by special laws. As most of the 
smaller towns were the property of the nobles, the 
burghers were practically subjects of the landlord. 
Nevertheless, some of them became very rich, and 
had considerable influence in an indirect way. The 
nobles were exclusively in possession of civil and 
political rights. These were lost, however, if they 
engaged in trade. Peasants and burghers were thus 
absolutely at the mercy of the nobles. 

The Senate of Poland consisted of two archbish¬ 
ops, fifteen bishops, thirty-three palatines and 
eighty-five castellans, a total of one hundred and 
thirty-five senators. When the Diet was not in ses¬ 
sion the Senate could give temporary decisions 
which had the force of laws until the Diet met. The 
Archbishop of Gnesen stood at the head of the Sen¬ 
ate. He ranked next to the king, and actually filled 
that place during the interregnums. Hence he was 
called the inter rex, and received almost royal hon¬ 
ours. The king received him standing, and he had 
the right of remonstrating with the king on all mat¬ 
ters of government. The king had ten ministers, 
each of whom had a seat in the Senate but took no 
part in the discussions. The Senate took from the 
king the right of making peace and war. 



10 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


Petty diets were held in each palatinate six weeks 
before the general Diet, at which deputies to the 
latter were chosen. Questions were also brought 
forward and prepared which were to be presented 
to the general assembly of the nation. The usual 
form of address among the nobles on these occa¬ 
sions was “ brother,” for, with a few exceptions, 
there were no outward marks of distinction. Titles 
and royal decorations were not introduced until the 
nation’s decadence under the Saxon kings. Every 
third Diet had to meet in Grodno, a concession orig¬ 
inally made to the Lithuanians. It was held two 
days after Michaelmas every other year, and was 
supposed to last no more than six weeks. Under no 
circumstances could the time be extended or short¬ 
ened, and all deliberations had to take place by day¬ 
light. The election assembly was held at Warsaw. 
Poland maintained no ambassadors at foreign 
courts. Whenever the throne became vacant the 
Diet assembled to examine into the administration 
of the late king and his Senate before a successor 
was elected. Any law that was not approved could 
be repealed and new measures passed which became 
laws by a unanimous vote. 

The king gradually became merely a figurehead. 
Because he was king, he naturally stood higher 
than any one else, but he owed his position to elec¬ 
tion by the privileged classes. This dignity brought 
him no power except that of a few appointments. 



The Land and the People 


11 


This was at a time when other nations were doing 
just the opposite, curtailing the nobles and strength¬ 
ening the throne. Any plan suggested by him could 
be blocked by a member of the Diet rising'in his 
seat and saying “ I protest.” This immediately 
dissolved the assembly. Hence bribery and in¬ 
trigue were the only means of influence that the 
king himself could employ. 

As Poland became decadent, it was an easy matter 
to corrupt one member who would exercise the right 
of liberum veto . The liberum veto originated in the 
principle that a free man cannot be governed or 
taxed contrary to his own declared will. Thus it 
came about that unanimous consent was required 
for all resolutions dealing with these matters, and 
the dissent of a single individual was sufficient for 
the rejection of any measure. Had any noble ac¬ 
knowledged the power of the majority, he would 
have thought that he was yielding to tyranny. The 
principle of independence was carried so far that 
the caprice of the individual outweighed the will of 
the multitude. A single individual could bring to a 
standstill the entire machinery of state. On the 
field of election a single dissent could annul ten, 
twenty or thirty thousand assents. From 1536 to 
1572 the Diet was dissolved seven times, almost one- 
half of its regular sessions. At a still later period 
not a single law was passed, or any business done, 
for a whole generation, during the reign of Augus- 



12 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


tus III, although the Diet met regularly every two 
years. 

The law of might was frequently enforced. Some¬ 
times when persuasion and threats were alike vain, 
the fatal nie pozwalam (I do not consent) would 
cause a thousand swords to be unsheathed. The op¬ 
position would thus be ended by the death of the 
opponent or opponents. This method of establish¬ 
ing unanimity sometimes had a salutary effect in the 
days before the nation’s decadence began. In 1764 
some considered it a special sign of the advancement 
of civilization since only thirteen were killed dur¬ 
ing the assembly of nobles in that year. In order to 
save himself from popular fury the noble used to 
hand in his protest in writing, and then wander 
about cursed by the nation and the object of its 
aversion. If there was too much opposition to be 
overcome by force a rohosz (confederation) would 
be formed, bound together by solemn oaths to battle 
for their opinions. The liberum veto was thus sus¬ 
pended by a movement which sometimes had for its 
only object the carrying out of the liberum veto of 
some influential noble or group of nobles. In a con¬ 
federation the votes of a majority ruled and, what¬ 
ever the result of its acts, the members could not 
be punished or looked upon as rebels. Thus revolu¬ 
tions were legally organized in Poland. These con¬ 
federations will be mentioned frequently through¬ 
out the pages devoted to history. 



The Land and the People 


13 


The national forces were cut down in the latter 
days of Poland’s history, because the Diet would not 
pay for their support; but each magnate had his 
own body of retainers, and a few of these armed 
bands of the nobles were at times more numerous 
than the national army. Some of them even took up 
arms against the king, or joined forces with those of 
other powers in opposing the state. Each noble was 
resolved to preserve his rights and privileges as a 
feudal lord. He was determined to be a law unto 
himself, and the country suffered accordingly. 

Utopia had been realized, for any gentleman 
could do as he pleased so long as he did not tread 
on the toes of some other gentleman. The army 
had been virtually abolished and the diplomats dis¬ 
pensed with, because the Polish lords refused to pay 
for them. Disorder spread. As lawlessness in¬ 
creased, however, legislative productiveness also in¬ 
creased ; but none obeyed, and there was no means 
of enforcement. Blackmail and official venality be¬ 
came open; the courts were a scandal. If men were 
angels and not human, such a political utopia as 
Poland in her last years might have been ideal. But 
no state can exist without an executive authority 
having sufficient power to control its people and to 
punish the violators of its laws. In every country 
there are bad qualities to be curbed, as well as good 
ones to be encouraged. 

Poland had excellent laws on her statutes, but the 



14 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


word “ obedience ” had by tacit consent been elim¬ 
inated. There was an abundance of princes and 
generals, but no one was willing to play the part 
of a humble private. The safety of the country 
rested on the good will of the privileged classes, 
who numbered probably one-twentieth of the popu¬ 
lation. The other nineteen-twentieths bore the bur¬ 
dens, but had nothing to say in the government. 
They were brave and chivalrous, hospitable and fas¬ 
cinating, but lacked restraint and cohesion. They 
would rather call in foreign forces to accomplish 
some selfish end than submit to the slightest curb 
of what was considered a personal privilege. * ‘ Po¬ 
land was at one time, ,, says a writer, “ the most 
cultured and the most illiterate, the richest in pa¬ 
triots and in traitors, in great men and in mean 
men. , 9 

In its last extremities almost the one hundred 
thousand or one hundred and fifty thousand landed 
population, pleading their privileges as noblemen, 
refused to pay anything for the support of the army, 
but levied a poll-tax on artisans, shepherds, millers, 
farmers, and the poorest sections of the community 
in general. They even received their wine and other 
luxuries free of duty. The country had to be sup¬ 
ported, so that what the nobles escaped in taxes was 
paid by the poor peasants. It is no wonder that all 
the descriptions of Poland, handed down to us by 
early writers, dwell upon the extreme poverty of the 



The Land and the People 


15 


common people and the lack of development of the 
country. “ The natives,” says a writer of the sev¬ 
enteenth century, ‘ ‘ were poorer, humbler, and more 
miserable than any people we had yet observed in 
our travels; wherever we stopped they flocked 
around us in crowds, and, asking for charity, used 
the most abject gestures.” “ The only houses of 
entertainment,” says an earlier writer, “ are places 
built of wood, where travellers are lodged with the 
horses, cows, and hogs, in a long stable made of 
boards, ill-joined, and thatched with straw. ’Tis 
true that there is a chamber at the end of it with a 
stove, . . . but the inn-keeper lodges in that room 
with his children and the whole family. Those who 
have occasion to travel in the summer may avoid 
part of these inconveniences by lying in a barn on 
fresh straw.” 

In the early history of Poland society was organ¬ 
ized on a strictly military basis. The generals, who 
commanded in the fortresses, were called castellans, 
and that name clung to petty magistrates in later 
years. As the Polish army, which had formerly 
been so formidable, dwindled, and the power of the 
elected monarchs lessened, the discontented fac¬ 
tions formed the habit of appealing to other nations 
for help to restore order. In this they were simply 
preparing the way for a great national funeral. It 
was Saxon soldiers that put Augustus II on the 
throne; Swedish arms gave the crown to Stanislaus 



16 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


Leszczynski; Russian troops set the last king in 
his royal place at Warsaw. Bribery, intrigue, vio¬ 
lence — all these forces were employed. There was 
always a disgruntled faction which disputed the acts 
of the majority. Monarchs are anything but mag¬ 
nanimous as a rule, and they harboured the idea of 
benefit. At any rate, it did not hurt their con¬ 
sciences so much to interfere when unasked in the 
affairs of Poland, as if they had never been re¬ 
quested to send their troops on Polish soil. Thus we 
can see how the Poles brought their troubles upon 
themselves, even though we cannot see the justice of 
the partitions. Swedes, Saxons and Russians fought 
out their battles on the soil of Poland, technically at 
peace with all these belligerents, and her provisions 
were ravaged for the support of all these armies. 
Nobody thought of asking permission or offering 
compensation afterwards. 

It was not until Poland had been robbed of a third 
of her territories by the first partition that the no¬ 
bles consented to surrender some of their rights by 
the famous constitution of the 3rd of May, 1791. 
The burghers were then admitted to citizenship, and 
the condition of the peasantry was greatly amelio¬ 
rated. A standing army was provided for, and the 
crown was made hereditary. This act, which was 
the first really national movement in the history of 
the country, came too late. 

At the period of her greatest expansion the king- 



The Land and the People 


17 


dom of Poland extended to the Baltic on the north 
and reached to the Black Sea on the south, a dis¬ 
tance of more than seven hundred miles. From 
east to west its breadth was nearly as great, for it 
reached from the heart of Prussia almost to the 
heart of Muscovy. Its area was about two hundred 
and eighty-two thousand square miles, or as large as 
Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and 
Kentucky. It was far more expansive than modern 
Germany or France. Its population numbered 
probably twenty millions of people. It was really 
a vast plain, with hardly any natural frontiers ex¬ 
cepting the Baltic Sea on the north and the Car¬ 
pathian Mountains at the southwest. This lack of 
natural boundary doubtless accelerated its ruin. Its 
great artery was the Vistula, which rises in the 
Carpathians and flows by Cracow, Warsaw, and 
Thorn, and the main branch finally empties itself 
into the sea near Dantzig. The basin of this stream 
formed the real centre of this kingdom. Like the 
soil, the river is now shared by the three partition¬ 
ing powers. Our difficulty in names will begin here, 
also, for in Polish this river is known as the Wisla, 
and in German it is Weichsel. 

Much of the soil is very fertile, but there are also 
vast barren tracts consisting of sand and swamp, 
especially in the eastern parts of the country. Po¬ 
land was almost exclusively an agricultural country. 
Dantzig (Gdansk) was the greatest commercial cen- 



18 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 

tre, and it had joined the Hanseatic League. After 
the loss of the Black Sea it was practically the only 
port of the country. There was no manufacturing, 
except of the simplest necessities, and little mining 
except the wonderful mines of rock salt at Wie- 
liczka. Trade was generally in the hands of Jews, 
Germans and Armenians. 

During the invasions of the barbaric hordes of the 
East, from the thirteenth to the seventeenth centu¬ 
ries, Poland played the part of a bulwark. Her 
plains were devastated by vast armies of these 
Orientals, and on two occasions they were checked 
only at the capital city of Cracow itself. Some go 
so far as to say that Western civilization itself 
would have succumbed had it not been for the valor 
of Polish arms. It must be admitted that a great 
debt is owing to the Poles for their part in the strug¬ 
gles with the East. 

The Poles belong to the great Aryan family from 
which the Anglo-Saxon also claims descent. The 
number still speaking the Polish language is now 
estimated at about twenty millions. But many other 
races were included in ancient Poland. There were 
White Russians (Lithuanians) and Bed Russians, 
who belonged to the Eastern Slavs, and spoke a very 
different tongue from the Poles. There were Letts 
and Livonians; Kashubes, Germans, and Armeni¬ 
ans; Esthonians and the Jews, of whom there were 
several millions. In Austrian Poland the Jews are 



The Land and the People 


19 


very conspicuous by reason of the long curls which 
they wear in front of their ears. In Russia this dis¬ 
tinguishing mark is forbidden. They had come into 
Poland as early as the eleventh century, and were 
of considerable influence on the country. In the 
thirteenth century they had been granted certain 
special privileges by Boleslaw the Pious, and this 
brought in another stream of Jewish immigrants. 
Among these privileges was one that the corpses of 
Jews could be removed free of duty, and another 
that a Christian should pay a fine of two stones of 
pepper to the province as a punishment for dese¬ 
crating a synagogue. If a Jew called for help in 
the night by reason of ill treatment the Christian 
must come to his aid on pain of punishment. Later, 
when the wealthier Jews began to even surpass 
Polish nobles in the splendour of their attire, we find 
an edict forbidding them to wear gold chains, signet 
rings, and swords inlaid with jewels. 

Religious toleration had at one time characterized 
Poland, and it was during this period that the Jews 
came. Calvinists, Lutherans, Greeks and Moham¬ 
medans lived peacefully in their midst side by side. 
The kings swore an oath that they would tolerate 
all sects. When Henry of Valois tried to avoid this 
oath the marshal bluntly informed him, “ If you 
will not take the oath, you will not rule.” The non- 
Catholic element was further increased by conquest 
and the immigration of other races. But from the 



20 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


period of the introduction of the aggressive order 
of the Jesuits, this tolerance gradually disappeared. 
The flames of religious discord were fanned into life 
by them. Heretofore each party had good-naturedly 
applied the term 44 dissidents ’ ’ to the other, but now 
the term began to designate only those dissenting 
from the established church. On more than one oc¬ 
casion the Lutherans appealed to Prussia, Sweden 
and even Great Britain, while the Orthodox gener¬ 
ally importuned Russia. It was a very unfortunate 
fact that the Poles were not far-sighted enough to 
continue their tolerance; or that the church digni¬ 
taries themselves were so narrow as to encourage 
this fanaticism. But religious devotion has ever 
characterized the Poles, and the Polish churches of 
to-day never lack for worshippers; the shrines are 
never deserted. 

The Poles have never forgotten the old kingdom. 
They never cease to sigh for their lost independence. 
The bleeding heart is very much in evidence 
throughout all of old Poland — too much, perhaps, 
for their own good. They cling to everything that 
can recall the Poland of the past. Their artists and 
poets have all assisted in keeping the old spirit alive, 
and have made national incidents the inspiration for 
their works. There is a prevailing air of melancholy 
in Posen, in Cracow, and in Warsaw. Russia has 
striven to build a wall so high about old Poland that 
no bird can fly over it, and so dense that not even the 




The Land and the People 


21 


breeze can pass through it. One cannot help but 
sympathize with a people, who, with an intense love 
of their native country, find upon the soil of their 
ancestors a cruel master who aims to crush out one 
of the noblest of human virtues, that of love of coun¬ 
try. Poland has become a symbol for freedom. 
Everywhere in Europe that there has been any fight¬ 
ing for freedom, Poles have taken a part in it. They 
may have been mistaken in their views, but they be¬ 
lieved they were fighting for freedom. The con¬ 
querors have not succeeded in crushing this spirit. 

If Poland is dead as a political entity, it is very 
much alive in every other way. The ancient fire 
still burns in her poets and authors, and the book¬ 
stalls are crowded with their productions. This life 
manifests itself in her arts and crafts, which aston¬ 
ish the beholder by their artistic merit. The Church 
enthusiastically works to build up and preserve this 
spirit, for to the Poles religion and nationality are 
inseparably intertwined. The hope of independence 
at some time in the future is as strong in the Polish 
breast as that of another Zion among the scattered 
Israelites. 



CHAPTER II 


THE BEGINNING OF POLISH NATIONALITY 

The early chroniclers — Piast family — Mieczyslaw I — Conversion 
to Christianity — Boleslaw I — St. Adalbert — Czechs and Prus¬ 
sians — Mieczyslaw II — Casimir I — Boleslaw II — The martyr 
bishop — Boleslaw III — Loss of Silesia — Casimir the Just — 
Teutonic Knights — Casimir the Great — Louis of Hungary — 
Jadwiga. 

Polish nationality seems to liave had its inception 
in the province of Posen, or Poznan, as it is spelled 
in Polish. There are writings extant, credited to the 
sixth and seventh centuries, which speak of Slavs 
dwelling along the Vistula, but their designation is 
indefinite. As is the case with most of these Slavic 
races, the early history is shrouded in tradition and 
legend. The Polish chroniclers, who were ecclesi¬ 
astics and wrote in the Latin tongue, pretend to 
trace the descent of the Poles from Lech, a great- 
grandson of Noah. The legends have the same fan¬ 
ciful character as those relating to other European 
races written about the same time or earlier. Many 
of the quaint traditions likewise have a miraculous 
character, but are treated as genuine history. The 
monks first introduced the art of writing in the coun¬ 
try, and intermingled their mysticism with the ac¬ 
tual historical facts. 


22 


The Beginning of Polish Nationality 23 

According to the best accounts the Piast family 
came to the throne of the 4 4 Polaki ” about 830 a. d., 
and this family ruled for five centuries, or until the 
union with Lithuania. The government was arbi¬ 
trary, being based on a military despotism. The 
people were purely agricultural and lived in village 
communities. The first Piast made Gniesno, or 
Gnesen, the seat of government. The name signifies 
a nest, and was so named because an eagle’s nest 
was found there. For the same reason, it is said, 
the eagle became the national crest. 

In the year 963 a heathen prince, one of the 
Piasts, Mieczyslaw, was on the throne, and was de¬ 
feated by a German baron subject to the Prussian 
emperor, Otho I. The name of this king is some¬ 
times spelled Mieszko. This man is said to have 
been born blind, but without any assignable cause 
his eyesight returned. The religion of the Poles had 
hitherto been a form of gross idolatry. A year after 
coming to the throne, — in 965, — this heathen 
prince became a convert of Christianity. It was not 
a miracle, or the influence of the priest, so we are 
told, that caused this change of heart in Mieczyslaw, 
but it was love which first occasioned the transition. 
He became enamoured of Dombrowska, the daugh¬ 
ter of the Duke of Bohemia, a country which had 
lately embraced Christianity. This lady refused to 
accept his suit unless he was baptized, and so the 
Polish prince sacrificed the superstitions and prejm 



24 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


dices of liis ancestors on the altar of love. Secular 
purposes probably were not overlooked, as by this 
alliance be consolidated the power of the two Slavic 
principalities, Bohemia and Poland, against the 
threatening encroachments of the Germans. It is 
here that the wide divergence begins between Poland 
and Russia, converted to Christianity about the 
same time. Poland received the Roman faith, which 
allied her to the Western nations of Europe, while 
Russia adopted the Eastern Church and became 
Byzantine. 

Mieczyslaw was quite successful in converting his 
subjects to the new religion, both by precept and the 
sword, and through the assistance of St. Adalbert 
(Swienty Wajciach, in Polish), who was Bishop of 
Prague at that time. Mieczyslaw broke down with 
his own hands the idols of his country. As an exam¬ 
ple of the excessive ardour with which the Polish 
prince advocated his new doctrine, we are told that 
whenever the gospel was read the hearers were 
obliged to half-draw their swords in order to testify 
their readiness to defend the truth of the gospel. 
The first formal edict preserved is an order that a 
Christian hymn should be sung before engaging in 
battle. Shortly after his conversion this prince 
founded a bishopric at Posen, and another at 
Gnesen, both of which bishoprics exist even to this 
day. 

When Mieczyslaw died in 992, he was succeeded 



The Beginning o f Polish Nationality 25 

by his son Boleslaw (or Boleslas), who reigned for 
more than thirty years. Up to this time Poland was 
a mere duchy, tributary to Germany, but under this 
ruler it was raised to a kingdom, and Boleslaw as¬ 
sumed the title of king. The German emperor of 
that period, Otho III, himself placed the diadem 
upon the brow of Boleslaw, after he had been roy¬ 
ally entertained by that prince, and declared that 
the honours of a king should be given to him and 
his posterity as rulers of Poland. This was later 
ratified by the Pope, who at that time was consid¬ 
ered the official dispenser of crowns and diadems. 

St. Adalbert is said to have preached the Chris¬ 
tian religion first to the Poles under a large tree 
which stood on a part of the present market square 
in Cracow, where a chapel now stands in his honour. 
The Czechs soon rejected the new gospel, as they 
were not entirely alienated from the old paganism, 
and the missionary’s code of morals was too severe 
for them. Especially did they resent his reproval 
of polygamy. St. Adalbert was in reality driven out 
of Prague, their capital. His later years were spent 
among the Poles and Prussians. He was practically 
the first Christian apostle among the Prussians. 
They, too, were not easily won over from their 
heathen deities, and Adalbert was killed by a pagan 
priest near Dantzig in 997. Hence this man, who 
had introduced Christianity among the Poles, lost 
his life while doing missionary work among the 



26 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


Prussians, thus becoming a martyr. Upon his death 
Boleslaw purchased his body at a great price — 
legend says they demanded its weight in gold — 
burying it at Gnesen, where it is still preserved, and 
makes a very holy place for Poles to visit. The 
events of his life are figured on the brazen gates of 
the cathedral in that city. 

Boleslaw I, who is surnamed both the Brave and 
the Great, was an ambitious and able ruler, and ex¬ 
tended the confines of Poland to a considerable ex¬ 
tent. The reign of Boleslaw was filled with wars, of 
which the first was against the Bohemians, and he 
even captured their capital of Prague. After the 
death of Otho, war was waged with the Prussians. 
The greatest war of this reign, however, was that 
against Yaroslav, Prince of Kiev. That prince had 
expelled his nephew, Sviatopolk, and Boleslaw took 
up the cause of the latter. He was victorious in a 
decisive battle which took place on the banks of the 
Bug in 1016. Poland afterwards suffered for this, 
however, for Yaroslav established himself in the 
end. His reign was one of great progress for the 
nation, as many new cities were built and trade was 
increased by the influx of foreign merchants. The 
Benedictine monks were invited into the country 
from France, and several monasteries were founded 
by that order. He created an independent Polish 
church by establishing the archbishopric of Gnesen, 
to which the other bishoprics were made subserv- 




TOMB OF MIECZYSLAW I AND BOLESLAW I, POSEN. 








































The Beginning of Polish Nationality 27 


ient. In 1025, at the age of fifty-eight, Boleslaw died 
and was buried at Posen. A striking monument in 
the cathedral of that city, with lifelike statues of 
the two men, marks the resting-place of himself and 
his father, who are known in Polish history as the 
first two Christian kings. 

After Boleslaw had been laid in the tomb of his 
fathers, he was succeeded by his son Mieczyslaw II. 
During this reign the kingdom enjoyed nine years 
of luxury intermingled with debauchery. The coun¬ 
try degenerated from its former position; the peo¬ 
ple receded into paganism, from which they had 
probably not advanced very far as yet. Mieczyslaw 
was a man of little force, from the scant record left 
of him, and the only thing of significance in his reign 
was the division of Poland into subdivisions called 
palatinates. He died in 1034. 

Following Mieczyslaw comes his son, the first 
Casimir (in Polish this name is spelled Kazimierz). 
This king was very young when he succeeded to the 
throne, and his mother, Rixa, a German woman, 
acted as regent. So unpopular did she become that 
both she and her son were compelled to flee the coun¬ 
try. During this vacancy of the throne practical 
anarchy arose, as the peasants, irritated by theii 
condition of practical slavery, seized arms against 
their masters and even desecrated the holy churches. 
It was to some extent a reaction of the pagan ele¬ 
ment. The only thing that saved the country from 



28 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 

complete destruction was an invasion by the Bohe¬ 
mians, which seemed to unite the people with a sense 
of patriotism. The serfs bowed their necks to the 
yoke anew; again began their worship in the 
churches; and Casimir once more resumed the 
sceptre. 

It is said that during his wanderings Casimir had 
become a monk in France. When he found that the 
people wanted him again as king, the Pope refused 
his consent until the Poles agreed to pay the Peter ’s 
pence, and that the whole nation should shave their 
heads. This is only legendary, and is given as an 
explanation of the custom of shaving the head which 
was universal among Polish nobles. The heads of 
the sons were shaved at the age of manhood, which 
was a sign of their adoption as sons and heirs. 
Upon his return Casimir soon brought about peace. 
A marriage with the sister of Yaroslav, Prince of 
Kiev, gave additional prestige to the new sovereign, 
for this Russian prince was at that time a powerful 
potentate. After a reign of sixteen years Casimir 
passed away in the year 1058, and was buried with 
his ancestors at Posen. 

The eldest of four sons of Casimir succeeded him 
with the title of Boleslaw II. This king was ready 
to fight the battles of others, as well as his own. 
He stretched out a helping hand to every weak sover¬ 
eign, even when it meant peril to himself. He 
fought the battles of the monarchs of Hungary and 



The Beginning of Polish Nationality 29 

Russia, and even other countries. At one time he 
conquered the city of Kiev, a very important city at 
that time, filled with semi-Oriental life. So im¬ 
pressed was he with the voluptuous life led there 
that he and his nobles remained for some time, 
basking themselves in this existence. 

During this time of absence from his kingdom 
troubles arose at home which called back Boleslaw 
and his followers. So cruel was Boleslaw in punish¬ 
ing the refractory serfs that he was rebuked by 
Stanislaus, the Bishop of Cracow. The latter even 
threatened him with the vengeance of the Church 
unless he ceased from the cruel slaughters. The 
king fell into a terrible rage, and with his own hands 
murdered the poor bishop at the very altar. As a 
punishment Boleslaw was accursed, excommuni¬ 
cated, dethroned, and banished by Pope Gregory 
VII. Abandoned by men, and denounced as one 
abhorred by God himself, the poor monarch crept 
away into the forests, and no one, not even the kings 
whom he had befriended, would furnish him an 
asylum. This man, who had for years wielded a 
sceptre and revelled in luxury, spent the last months 
of his life, so we are told, in doing menial work for 
the monks in a monastery. Death ended his six 
years’ exile in 1082. So far as is known he made no 
effort to regain his lost crown. 

The vengeance of the Pope did not cease with 
Boleslaw, but for two centuries the ruling dukes of 




30 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


Poland were not allowed to assume the regal title; 
and his direct descendants were excluded from the 
throne. A brother of Boleslaw, by name Wladislas, 
or Ladislas, became the reigning duke. His first act 
was to send an embassy to Rome, in order to placate 
the Pope. As a result, the churches were again al¬ 
lowed to be opened. 

Wladislas was succeeded by his son, Boleslaw III 
(1103-1139). This latter king is surnamed by the 
Poles the wry-mouthed, because his mouth was 
somewhat out of shape as a result of a wound he 
had received. As a matter of fact, many of the 
Polish kings have received some sort of distinguish¬ 
ing nickname. This king was likewise a successful 
warrior, and he took part in a number of wars with 
neighbouring princes. Many thousands received 
Christian baptism. The King of Prussia tried to 
impose a tribute upon the Poles, but a battle fol¬ 
lowed in which the Germans were routed. Peace 
was finally cemented by the marriage of the Polish 
duke with a sister of the reigning Prussian sover¬ 
eign. At length, worn out by his strenuous cam¬ 
paigns, and with his spirit broken by a defeat which 
he suffered, the king passed out of life in 1139. 

Following an unwise custom, which caused so 
much trouble in the early history of Russia, Bole¬ 
slaw divided his dominions among his four oldest 
sons. As a result conflicts arose among these sons, 
but the entire inheritance finally devolved upon the 



The Beginning of Polish Nationality 31 

youngest son, Casimir, after the brief reign of 
Wladislas II, and Boleslaw IV, and Mieczyslas III, 
with the exception of Silesia, which was retained by 
his eldest brother, Wladislas. From this time this 
important province of Silesia is alienated from the 
Polish possessions, which was an unfortunate thing 
for the growing nation. Although the most of 
Silesia is now Germanized, yet the Polish language 
will be found prevalent in many districts. When 
these monarchs had nothing else to do they endeav¬ 
oured to Christianize that section of modern Eussia 
known as the Baltic Provinces. These people were 
sunk into the grossest idolatry and ignorance, and 
Boleslaw attempted to spread the new religion with 
the sword. The effect lasted so long as the sword 
hung over their heads, and no longer. Some of the 
young Polish nobles caught the infection of the cru¬ 
sades, and a numerous army of Polish volunteers 
embarked in that cause. 

Casimir II, who came to the throne in 1178, is 
known as the Just. This man seems to have been a 
very amiable character, and, although a valiant 
warrior, he rendered himself more conspicuous by 
his mildness and benevolence in peace. He was in¬ 
deed a father to his people. Although it was im¬ 
possible for him, under the Polish law, to free the 
serfs, yet he did everything within his power to al¬ 
leviate their condition. Under him the nucleus of 
a senate was introduced. He has left behind him the 



32 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 

character of the most amiable monarch which ever 
sat upon the Polish throne. He died in 1194. 

Some of the intervening reigns between these 
leading sovereigns have nothing especial to record, 
although a great Mongolian invasion occurred dur¬ 
ing this period. They carried off many prisoners 
with them. Among these rulers are Leszek the 
White, Boleslaw the Modest, and Leszek the Black. 
The regal title was again restored in the year 1296. 
We find another Wladislas, who is known as the 
Short, upon the throne in the early part of the four¬ 
teenth century. This man waged successful warfare 
against the Teutonic Knights. This order originally 
had been founded on religious principles, and had 
been chartered by the Pope. The members wore a 
black coat, over which was a white cloak with a black 
cross. Their weapon was a sword, and they took 
vows of almost monkish austerity. A Knight must 
be of Teutonic blood, and he vowed to live a life of 
chastity. From them as a nucleus grew up the Prus¬ 
sian nation. As the years passed the Teutonic 
Knights became arrogant, and they attempted to 
exercise sovereign authority over territories claimed 
by the Poles. Originally approved by Rome, they 
had later been denounced by the Pope as out of the 
pale and protection of his authority. 

Having successfully carried out his warfare with 
the Teutonic Knights, Wladislas was crowned with 
great pomp in the cathedral at Cracow. He was the 



The Beginning of Polish Nationality 33 


first monarch to be crowned there, and was also the 
first to be laid at rest in the Wawel. From this time 
Cracow became prominent in Polish history, and 
around it the national life begins to centre. The en¬ 
tire province of Galicia is soon after united to the 
kingdom by the extinction of its line of reigning 
dukes. Wladislas is said to have given the following 
advice to his son on his death-bed: “ If you have 
any regard for your honour or your reputation, take 
care to yield nothing to the Knights of the Teutonic 
Order and the Marquis of Brandenburg. ’ ’ These 
words proved to be really prophetic, for it was after 
this House of Brandenburg came to the throne of 
Prussia that the partitioning of Poland began. 

We now come to another noteworthy reign, that of 
Casimir III, who is known as the Great, and ruled 
from 1333 to 1370. He proved to be the Polish Jus¬ 
tinian, for it was during his reign that the laws of 
Poland were first reduced to a consistent form. 
Heretofore the noble was supreme judge over his 
domains, and, though an appeal lay to the king, this 
was greatly a matter of form. The sovereign did 
not dare overrule a noble, because the nobles were 
too powerful. All of the statutes, which were 
formed into a code in 1368, are written in the Latin 
language. This was really a great advance for that 
age. It established at least a reasonable security 
for life and property. Regular courts were ap¬ 
pointed in each palatinate, with fixed fees for the 



34 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


judges. It may be said in passing that Latin was 
the official language of Poland, and was spoken as 
well there as in the Latin kingdoms themselves. 
During this reign, also, a national assembly for the 
first time became a regular feature of the country. 
It consisted of an assembly of the nobles and higher 
clergy, but the burghers were not admitted. In a 
strict sense there were only two classes of people 
in Poland at this time — the nobles and common 
people. 

In every way the reign of Casimir was a notable 
one in Poland. The country was fortified by the 
erection of fortresses, and the citizens were enrolled 
to be ready at the call of their country to arms. 
Commerce was greatly extended, for both Germans 
and Jews began to come in in great numbers, both 
races engaging generally in trade. It is said that 
Casimir was greatly enamoured of a Jewess by the 
name of Esther, and it was for love of her that he 
gave special favours to her people. Whether this 
is true or pot, the records are rather uncertain. It 
is known, however, that the life of Casimir was so 
i mm oral that he was excommunicated by the arch¬ 
bishop. The priest who was sent to notify him of 
his excommunication was thrown into a dungeon, 
and during the night was cast into the waters of 
the Vistula. In later years, however, as life was 
drawing to its close, he submitted himself to the 
Pope and received absolution. The death of the 




TOMB OF CASIMIR IIT, THE GREAT, CRACOW 




























































































































































































































































The Beginning of Polish Nationality 35 


king was caused by a fall from his horse while hunt¬ 
ing in the vicinity of Cracow in 1370. An imposing 
tomb of reddish marble has been erected in his 
honour in the cathedral of the Wawel. 

Casimir died without any immediate heirs, and 
was succeeded by a nephew, Louis, King of Hun¬ 
gary. It was the effort of Casimir to have his 
nephew chosen that first taught the nobles their 
power, and led to subsequent corruption and anar¬ 
chy at each interregnum. As it was feared that this 
king might be brought into complications, because 
he was already the head of another nation, the pacta 
conventa was formulated as a binding obligation 
between the king and his subjects. This was really 
the Magna Chart a of Poland. It protected only the 
nobles, however, and did not offer any guarantee to 
the poor serfs. Louis agreed to all of the condi¬ 
tions imposed upon him, but he did not seem to con¬ 
sider his word binding. Serious trouble was only 
averted by his death, after a few years’ reign. His 
death terminated the direct dynasty of the Piasts in 
1382, although it is really continued in the female 
line. 

Following the death of Louis was one of the un¬ 
fortunate interregnums so common in Polish his¬ 
tory. It was two years before Jadwiga, or Hed- 
wiga, the daughter of Louis, succeeded to the throne. 
She is said to have been a woman of great beauty 
and spirit. She was not left free in the choice of 



36 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


a husband, however, as the offer of Jagiello, at that 
time the ruler of the rival state of Lithuania, was 
so tempting that the Poles practically compelled 
Jadwiga to marry this Lithuanian prince. The fact 
that she was in love with an Austrian archduke did 
not weigh with the Diet as against ambition and 
policy. They thought that this was the best way to 
stop constant warfare with their neighbours, and 
the Catholic prelate gave his consent. Jagiello 
promised to unite his own domains with those of 
Poland, and also to convert his subjects to the 
Roman Catholic faith. 




CHAPTER III 


LITHUANIA AND THE JAGIELLOS 

The Lithuanians — A pagan stronghold — Mindvog — Gedimin — 
Livonian Knights — Vilna — Olgerd — Jagiello — Union with Po¬ 
land — Conversion of Lithuanians — Cfacow becomes capital — 
Wladislas III — Casimir IV — Prussians become vassals — John 
Albert — Alexander — Sigismund I — Sigismund Augustus. 

Lithuania, or Litwa, Poland’s immediate neigh¬ 
bour on the eastern boundary, was at one time a 
great power. The several tribes grouped under that 
name had developed a proud independence and great 
ferocity in the deep forests and marshes of the 
Niemen. They warred among themselves when no 
other tribes threatened them. The different tribes 
were known as Lithuanians, Letts, Samogilians and 
White Russians, but the first named were by far 
the most numerous and maintained the ruling au¬ 
thority. 

Lithuania at the time of her greatest expansion 
reached from the Black Sea to the Baltic. It exer¬ 
cised sovereignty over much of what was later in¬ 
cluded in Poland, and was then the leading power 
in Eastern Europe. The language is a Slavonic dia¬ 
lect. The early history of the country is legendary, 
and little is known of the Lithuanians until the elev¬ 
enth century. Before that they were simply obscure 
37 


38 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


barbarians, inhabiting a little-known corner of 
Europe. Some think they are descendants of the 
original Ostrogoths, but they are undoubtedly Sla¬ 
vonic and belong to the Aryans. Lithuania was the 
last great stronghold of pagan worship in Europe, 
as it was converted to Christianity later than its 
neighbours. There was a powerful sacerdotal caste, 
and the high priest was a personage of great influ¬ 
ence. The principal deity was Perkun, the god of 
thunder, as was the Russian Perun. The sacred fire 
was kept burning constantly before this idol. 

Mindvog, who was crowned in 1252, and his son, 
Gedimin (1315-1340), were powerful sovereigns, and 
both extended the limits of their kingdom. Mind¬ 
vog created Lithuanian unity by exterminating the 
rival princes. “ He began,’’ says a chronicle, “ by 
slaying his brothers and his sons; he chased the 
survivors from the country, and reigned alone over 
the land of Lithuania.” Threatened by the Livo¬ 
nian Knights, an order similar to the Teutonic 
Knights, Mindvog appealed to the Pope. In re¬ 
sponse to this appeal a legate of Innocent IV visited 
Mindvog at Grodno and consecrated him as King 
of Lithuania after he had received baptism. The 
danger having passed, Mindvog plunged into the 
same stream to wash off his baptism, and the sacred 
fires were kept burning more brightly than ever. He 
was killed by an assassin, and Gedimin succeeded to 
the throne. 



Lithuania and the Jagiellos 


39 


Gedimin waged a war of conquest and added a 
number of new provinces to his dominions. Kiev 
fell to him, and some of the western provinces of 
Russia acknowledged his sway. The Tartars were 
held in check by this aggressive sovereign. Under 
him Vilna (Wilno) was established as the capital. 
When Gedimin died, his body was burned in a cal¬ 
dron together with his favourite war-horse and 
groom, according to the Lithuanian rite. His son 
Olgerd (1345-1377) conquered Vitepsk, Mohilev and 
Podolia, and even humiliated the strong republic of 
Novgorod the Great. He also reached the Black Sea 
in his conquests. The Grand Prince of Moscow 
trembled on his throne, and the Poles were com¬ 
pelled to fight the aggressive Lithuanians. But 
Olgerd was finally gathered to his fathers, and his 
son Jagiello succeeded to the throne by either put¬ 
ting to death or driving from the country all rival 
claimants. Yet this man proved to be the apostle of 
Christianity to these people. For a long time Chris¬ 
tianity had sought to enter by two different chan¬ 
nels — under the Roman form from Poland, and the 
Greek form from Russia. Many of each faith were 
numbered among its subjects. 

The history of Lithuania and Poland becomes in¬ 
tertwined from the time of the marriage of Jagiello 
and Jadwiga. The later change of capital to War¬ 
saw was the result of this union, as it was a compro¬ 
mise site almost midway between Vilna and Cracow. 



40 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


At the present time the population of the Lithu¬ 
anian provinces is divided among the Lutheran, 
Roman Catholic and Orthodox faiths. It took a long 
time to Polonize Lithuania, for the bulk of the peo¬ 
ple remained Orthodox. The chances are, however, 
that a close examination would reveal a lot of orig¬ 
inal heathenism mixed up with the Lithuanian’s re¬ 
ligious ideas even to this day. He has a great belief 
in signs and marvels, dreams and omens, magic and 
witchcraft. Tendencies either to independence or 
union with Russia frequently arose, especially dur¬ 
ing the interregnums which followed the death of a 
sovereign. This was to a great extent due to the 
antagonism caused by religious differences. 

Jagiello was publicly baptized at Cracow in 1386. 
His subjects were divided* into groups and then 
sprinkled with holy water. To one group would be 
given the name of Peter; to another Paul or John. 
It was a repetition of the action of Vladimir at Kiev, 
after his conversion to the Greek Church. Jagiello 
overthrew the idol Perkun, and extinguished the 
sacred fire. The union was not effected without 
some opposition, for the Lithuanian nobles resisted, 
but nevertheless they were compelled to submit. So 
strenuously did Vitovt resist that he was recognized 
as Grand Duke, and Lithuania always remained 
a state apart as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, 
united with Poland under one sovereign. It gradu¬ 
ally became more and more Polonized, however, and 




Lithuania and the Jagiellos 


41 


the nobility assumed the manners and even the lan¬ 
guage of the Polish aristocracy. 

With this union of Jagiello and Jadwiga the 
heroic age of Poland began, and this family ruled 
over the combined countries for a period of almost 
two centuries. The capital of Lithuania had been at 
Vilna, or Wilno, and the removal to Cracow caused 
trouble and dissatisfaction. As the surrounding 
nations were growing stronger, however, this union 
was a fortunate thing for Poland. Jagiello, who 
took the name of Wladislas upon his confirmation, 
and ruled as Wladislas II, continued to occupy the 
throne for more than forty years after the death of 
Hedwiga, in 1389. During this period he was mar¬ 
ried three different times. The Polish nobles, how¬ 
ever, forced a number of concessions from Wladislas 
before they would submit to his rule. It was during 
this reign that the celebrated battle of Griinwald 
took place, in which the Poles obtained such a de¬ 
cisive victory over the Teutonic Knights. It is said 
that Jagiello was an amiable and considerate man, 
who aimed to give the country a good government. 
The Poles were indebted to him for a number of 
very good laws. Having laid the foundation of 
Poland’s greatness, he died in 1433, and was buried 
by the side of the Polish kings in Cracow. 

Wladislas III, who succeeded his father, Jagiello, 
was at that time a youth of only ten years. He was 
likewise elected king of Hungary and Bohemia, a 



42 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


union which was dissolved during the reign of his 
successor. His mother and some of the nobles acted 
as his guardians during his minority, but the real 
ruler was an ecclesiastic. As a natural result relig¬ 
ious bigotry and friction of the alien elements in¬ 
creased. Scarcely had Wladislas escaped from the 
authority of his guardians, however, before he be¬ 
gan a campaign against the Turks. Inexperienced 
and unprepared in the matter of warfare, he was 
defeated and perished in battle in 1444, in the 
twenty-first year of his age. 

After another interregnum of almost three years, 
a brother of Wladislas III, Casimir IY, came to the 
throne, and his long reign forms a brighter period 
in Polish history. Under him we find that the 
Prussians, who had become wearied and weakened 
by their warfare against the Teutonic Knights, 
placed themselves under the protection of Casimir 
in 1454, and became practically vassals of the Poles. 
The Poles overran practically all of what was then 
Prussian territory in their warfare against the 
Knights. The Grand Master of the Knights ac¬ 
knowledged himself as a vassal of the Polish king 
and Senate. It was at this time that Dantzig became 
a Polish city and of great consequence in the king¬ 
dom, as it was one of the most important towns of 
the Hanseatic League, that famous merchants 9 trust 
of the days gone by. Under Casimir the Diet began 
to be formed as it existed in the later period of the 



Lithuania and the Jagiellos 


43 


country’s history. Its real power really dates from 
this reign. Learning likewise began to spread 
throughout the nation. The first printing-press was 
erected at Cracow in 1474. The Polish language 
began to be cultivated and used by authors, and was 
written in an elegant form. The reign of Casimir 
covered a period of almost half a century, during 
which time the territory had been extended and the 
constitution developed. He died in 1492, in the 
castle of Troki, which is not very far from Vilna. 
His tomb is also in the Wawel. 

Casimir was succeeded by his son, John Albert, 
although not without dispute, because the Lithu¬ 
anian faction called another son, Alexander. It is 
the first instance in Polish history that we read of 
a resort to arms in establishing the succession. 
Some of the powerful nobles rallied to John Albert, 
with some armed retainers, and he was crowned as 
king on the 23rd of September. He was not a 
strong ruler, and he endeavoured to conciliate the 
nobles by making some concessions to them. He 
also increased the power of the nobles over their 
serfs. Turks and Tartars made trouble for him by 
incursions into his territory. At this time the towns 
were composed chiefly of Germans, Jews and Ar¬ 
menians, all of whom were considered practically 
out of the pale of the law, and could not be admitted 
to the rights of naturalization. Every gentleman 
who had a house and a few acres of land could claim 



44 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


all the privileges of nobility. John Albert died at 
Thorn of apoplexy in 1501. 

John Albert’s successor was his brother, Alexan¬ 
der, in the same year. Alexander had married 
Helen, a daughter of Ivan the Great-of Russia, 
whose mother was Sophia Paleologa, the heir to the 
crown of Byzantium. From this time the double¬ 
headed eagle is added to the escutcheon of Russia. 
Under Ivan Russia had been formed into a strong 
autocracy, and from this time becomes a formidable 
rival of Poland with her weakening central author¬ 
ity. We find them in almost perpetual altercation 
and conflict in the succeeding years. The liberum 
veto had already made its appearance in the Diet 
held at Radom in 1505, where it was decided that 
there must be a unanimity of votes and not simply 
a majority. Notwithstanding the connection by 
marriage, war was waged between Poland and Mos¬ 
cow, although the queen seems to have been greatly 
attached to her husband. The trouble was religion, 
as Helen refused to become a Roman Catholic, and 
a separate chapel was maintained for her in Vilna. 
This concession, and the favours which the king en¬ 
deavoured to give the Orthodox Church, caused 
jealousy among the Poles, and alienated the papacy. 
Alexander died at Thorn on the 19th of August, 
1506, of the same complaint as his brother. His 
widow survived him for several years, but continued 
to live at Vilna. 




Lithuania and the Jagiellos 


45 


In 1507 Sigismund I, also a son of the last Casi- 
mir, was crowned as king. He was then about forty 
years of age. This reign almost corresponds with 
that of Henry VIII, of England, who died just a 
year earlier than Sigismund. Many factions arose 
against him, but this Polish monarch was not to be 
intimidated. He defeated the Lithuanians, who had 
revolted, and routed their Russian auxiliaries. The 
Teutonic Knights were compelled again to acknowl¬ 
edge Polish suzerainty. In addition to outside 
troubles he had domestic troubles, for his second 
wife, Bona, an Italian woman, was the prime mover 
of many intrigues. So strong-willed was she that 
she acquired complete ascendancy over the mind of 
her husband, until he was practically little more 
than a puppet in her hands. The first real rebellion 
against regal authority likewise occurred in this 
reign, and was led by a Lithuanian prince. A num¬ 
ber of the nobles refused to join the king in a mili¬ 
tary expedition organized by him. Sigismund died 
in Cracow, and was buried with his predecessors. 

Sigismund was followed by his son Sigismund II 
Augustus (1548-1572). He had trouble at the be¬ 
ginning of his reign, because he had married in 
secret before his father’s death. When he came to 
the throne he publicly acknowledged the marriage, 
and was faithful to his wife, who was a Lithuanian 
woman of illustrious birth. He refused to break his 
domestic ties even if this refusal might cause him 



46 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


the loss of the kingdom. Her death in the early part 
of his reign, she living only six months as queen, 
broke down this opposition. She is believed to have 
been poisoned. Sigismund Augustus was not free 
from war, as some of his neighbours were still 
troublesome. War likewise followed with Russia, 
when the Czar of Moscow invaded Livonia. The 
czar was victorious, and gained some territory. 
Lithuania was more closely united to Poland during 
this reign. There were perhaps at this time more 
printing-presses in Poland, so we are told, than in 
any other country of Europe. There were eighty- 
three towns in which books were printed. 

Contrary to the later history of Poland, at this 
time there was the greatest of religious toleration. 
The Reformation had gained great headway after 
the Diet of Worms, in 1520, during the reign of the 
first Sigismund. Dantzig, Thorn and a number of 
other cities proved fertile ground for these new doc¬ 
trines. Even the Teutonic Knights accepted the 
new faith. When almost all the rest of Europe was 
involved in persecution of one sect or another, all 
of these maltreated people were welcomed to Po¬ 
land. All parties were allowed a perfect liberty of 
the press, and religious literature of many faiths 
began to appear from Polish presses. It is true 
that many quarrels resulted, but I speak of the 
general policy of the king and the Diet. Some of 
the leading nobles had publicly avowed the new 






SIGISMUND 


II AUGUSTUS. 


> 

















































Lithuania and the Jagiellos 


47 


faith. A few of the clergy left the Church and mar¬ 
ried. The term Dissidents, as used in Poland, first 
included the Orthodox adherents, but it finally desig¬ 
nated only the Lutherans and other Protestant 
bodies. 

The death of Sigismund without a direct male heir 
restored the crown to his subjects for their disposal. 
With him the direct line of the Jagiellos was ended, 
although collateral lines still reached the throne. 
The funeral bell of Sigismund Augustus was the 
tocsin of anarchy in Poland. The Polish crown be¬ 
came a prize of competition among foreign princes, 
and the neighbouring potentates began a struggle to 
put their favourites upon the throne. These con¬ 
flicting interests were added upon Poland as an ad¬ 
ditional trouble to the evils of civil dissension. 



CHAPTER IV 


THE EARLY ELECTED KINGS 

The Pacta Conventa — Election of Henry — His flight — Stephen 
Batory — His marriage to Anne — The Cossacks — The Jesuits 
— Sigismund III — Poles capture Moscow — Wladislas IV — 
The Uniates — John Casimir — Rebellion of Cossacks — Zbaraz 
— War with Sweden — Casimir abdicates. 

With the death of Sigismund Augustus, the era 
of elected kings begins. The Diet has now become 
supreme, and is able to impose its will upon the 
candidate for the throne. The liberum veto has been 
well established, and with it has grown up corrup¬ 
tion. The wealthy nobles lived like potentates, but 
their wealth came at the expense of the down¬ 
trodden peasants. Outwardly, however, Polish mag¬ 
nificence and prodigality was making a profound 
impression upon Europe. 

An interregnum of almost two years followed 
the death of Sigismund, and during that time the 
Archbishop of Gnesen exercised the authority. At 
the meeting of the Diet called to select a new king, 
in 1573, new laws were passed governing the elec¬ 
tion of a ruler. It was decided that all the nobles 
should have a voice in the nomination, and that they 
should meet on a plain near Warsaw. This city had 
been agreed upon as the meeting-place of the Diet 
in 1569, as a partial concession to the Lithuanians. 

48 


The Early Elected Kings 


49 


Heretofore a great many differences and jealousies 
had constantly arisen between the two peoples. It 
was not until a little later, however, that it became 
the capital of the country, and the official residence 
of the king. 

A new coronation oath, called the pacta conventa, 
was agreed upon, by which the monarch was 
stripped of all actual power. The throne was made 
entirely elective; a permanent council was to be 
chosen each year to advise with the king; regular 
convocations of the Diet were required every two 
years, and a session was not to exceed six weeks; 
war was not to be declared, or even a military ex¬ 
pedition entered into, or any taxes imposed without 
the consent of the Diet; the king was neither to 
marry nor divorce a wife without such consent; he 
was to have no voice in the election of his successor; 
and there must be a perfect toleration of all relig¬ 
ious bodies. The Roman Catholic religion, however, 
was designated as the state religion, and the sover¬ 
eign was obliged to be a confessor of that faith. 

There were several candidates for the vacant 
throne, all of them backed by different factions, but 
the successful one was Henry, Duke of Anjou, a son 
of Catherine de Medici, and a brother of the then 
reigning king of France. He was at this time 
twenty-three years of age. An embassy was sent to 
Paris to notify the elected king, consisting of a 
dozen ambassadors. Among them was the Bishop 




50 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


of Posen. Their retinue was so numerous that they 
filled fifty carriages. An account of this embassy 
which has been handed down to us, written by an 
eye-witness living in Paris, is as follows: 

“ It is impossible to express the general astonish¬ 
ment when we saw these ambassadors in long robes, 
fur caps, sabres, arrows, and quivers; but our ad¬ 
miration was excessive when we saw the sumptuous¬ 
ness of their equipages, the scabbards of their 
swords adorned with jewels, their bridles, saddles, 
and horse-cloths decked in the same way, and the air 
of consequence and dignity by which they were dis¬ 
tinguished. One of the most remarkable circum¬ 
stances was their facility in expressing themselves, 
in Latin, French, German and Italian. These four 
languages were as familiar to them as their ver¬ 
nacular tongue. There were only two men of rank 
at court who could answer them in Latin, the Baron 
of Milan and the Marquis of Castelnau-Mauvissiere. 
They had been commissioned expressly to support 
the honour of the French nation, that had reason to 
blush at their ignorance in this point. They (the 
ambassadors) spoke our language with so much 
purity, that one would have taken them rather for 
being educated on the banks of the Seine and the 
Loire, than for inhabitants of the countries which 
are watered by the Vistula or the Dnieper, which put 
our courtiers to the blush, who knew nothing, but 
were open enemies of all science; so that when 




HENRY, DUKE OF ANJOU (AFTERWARDS HENRY III, KING OF FRANCE) 























The Early Elected Kings 


51 


their guests questioned them, they answered only 
with signs or blushes.’’ 

Henry accepted the offer of the Polish crown, al¬ 
though he hesitated a little about the clause grant¬ 
ing absolute religious freedom. It must be remem¬ 
bered that the massacre of St. Bartholomew had 
occurred in Paris only the year previous. This 
knowledge made some of his future subjects uneasy. 
A great banquet was given in his honour. The cere¬ 
mony of taking the oath was carried out with great 
pomp in the famous cathedral of Notre Dame on 
September 11. Henry knelt before the great altar 
and took the required oath. His brother Charles IX 
likewise swore to aid Poland in case of need against 
her enemies. The Polish delegation carried out 
their part of the program with great dignity, re¬ 
fusing to yield anything whatever in their demands. 
They would not deliver up the diploma of election 
until the two kings had confirmed all the articles in 
the covenant heretofore agreed to by the French 
commissioners. The ceremonies in Paris were very 
elaborate. The Parisian crowds greeted Henry 
with the cry of u Long live the King of Poland, 
when he made his triumphal entry into the city. 
Triumphal arches had been erected, ornamented 
with statues and inscriptions, and altogether the 
reign seemed to start out with great eclat. But 
pageants and ceremonies make neither a good king 
nor obedient subjects. 



52 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


Henry was crowned at Cracow on the 21st of Feb¬ 
ruary, 1574. He was not a good choice for Poland, 
however, because at the very time of his election he 
had been fighting the Protestants in his own coun¬ 
try. Now he was called upon to exercise toleration. 
He really accepted the crown reluctantly, and it was 
only the tinsel which appealed to him. He looked 
upon residence in Poland almost as an exile, because 
it took him away from his beloved Paris. He soon 
grew tired of the turbulent Poles, among whom he 
was now called upon to live, as they seemed to him 
so inferior to the French, and especially the Paris¬ 
ians. He practically immured himself in his palace, 
where he lived a life of indulgence. His reign 
really lasted only about five months. 

News reached Henry one day of the death of his 
brother, Charles IX, by which he inherited the 
French throne. Instead of calling together the Diet, 
and frankly stating the situation to them, and ask¬ 
ing permission to go to France, he chose a different 
course. He wanted to get away before the death of 
his brother became known. He gave a banquet in 
honour of the sister of the late king, Anne Jagiel- 
lonka, at which he seemed to be in unusual spirits. . 
After retiring to his apartments, he went with an 
attendant to where horses had secretly been sta¬ 
tioned, and with only a few companions left the 
kingdom never to return. His departure was not 
even known in Cracow until the following morning, 



The Early Elected Kings 


53 


when the Grand Chamberlain found the king’s bed¬ 
room unoccupied. Pursuit was made, but Henry did 
not stop to parley until he had quitted Polish terri¬ 
tory. When the Polish commissioners approached, 
he promised to return after matters were settled in 
Paris; but he did not. In 1589 Henry suffered 
death at the hands of an assassin. The pride of the 
Poles was greatly piqued at being thus deserted by 
their sovereign, but the country doubtless profited 
by the occurrence. 

Another unfortunate interregnum followed this 
flight of Henry on the 18th of July, 1574, which 
lasted almost two years. During this time the Tar¬ 
tars made a raid and carried off many captives. As 
was generally the case at each successive vacancy, 
there were two irreconcilable factions contending 
for supremacy. One of these factions chose Maxi- 
millian of Austria, and the other elected Stephen 
Batory, Duke of Transylvania. Batory, always vig¬ 
orous and prompt in action, hastened to Poland 
upon being informed of his election, and was 
crowned at Cracow. The death of Maximillian soon 
afterwards quieted the prospects of trouble from 
that source. The new king signed the pacta con- 
venta, and married the sister of the late king, Anne 
Jagiellonka. Batory was descended from an ancient 
family, and was possessed of rare qualities as well 
as high talent. He had raised himself to a high 
position by his valour, and he proved to be an ener- 



54 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


getic ruler, reigning over the country for ten years. 
He defeated the Russians in a series of battles, cap¬ 
tured many towns, and was thus able to check the 
encroachment of the Russian ruler known as Ivan 
the Terrible. 

Batory added to the strength of the nation by es¬ 
tablishing a standing army. He brought the Cos¬ 
sacks into some military order, and established sev¬ 
eral regiments from members of these warring 
tribes, who were kept continually under arms. Up 
to this time the Cossacks had simply been wander¬ 
ing marauders, who plundered Poles, Russians or 
Turks as often as the opportunity afforded. In fact, 
the name is a Tartar word meaning “ wanderer/ * 
It is pronounced with a strong accent on the second 
syllable. They were ruled by a chief, called the 
hetman or attaman, who was entitled to carry a 
staff as his emblem of authority. Their numbers 
were constantly added to by runaway serfs and 
vagrants of all descriptions from Russia, Poland 
and the Tartar Khaniates. 

There were several distinct tribes of the Cossacks. 
Those who lived along the Dnieper River were called 
the Zaporogians, or Zaporozhians. Their govern¬ 
ment was very republican in form. Each year the 
old officers laid down their duties in the presence of 
a general assembly, and new ones were chosen. 
They had a series of fortified camps along Southern 
Russia from the mouth of the Dnieper to the Sea 





STEPHEN BATORY, 





















The Early Elected Kings 


55 


of Azov. Women were not allowed to live in their 
camps. The Cossacks really had no sense of nation¬ 
ality, and no loyalty to any government. 4 ‘ Free as 
a Cossack ” is still a popular expression in Bussia, 
for it designates the man who has never borne a 
yoke either foreign or domestic. These are the peo¬ 
ple who dwelt in the Ukraine, which the Polish 
“ pans ” had gradually brought under their rule 
and which had become a centre of agricultural spec¬ 
ulation. 

The reign of Batory was vigorous in every way, 
and resulted in very much good for the whole coun¬ 
try. He attempted to curb the turbulent nobility 
as much as was possible. But Batory himself was 
obliged to submit to still further encroachments 
upon royal prerogatives. A body of sixteen sen¬ 
ators was chosen to wait upon him, whose opinion 
on important matters he was obliged to follow. It 
is believed that he intended to make the throne 
hereditary, but his failing health prevented the 
carrying out of such an ambition. Few monarchs 
are more respected by the Poles than this one. His 
election had been satisfactory to the Dissidents at 
first, for it was believed that he himself was a Prot¬ 
estant. At least his ancestors had been. Before 
being crowned, however, he made public his alle¬ 
giance to the Eoman Catholic faith. His wife was 
a bigoted Catholic and probably influenced him to 
some extent, although their union was not a partic- 



56 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


ularly happy one. Batory ruled only ten years; he 
died on the 12th of December, 1566, being only fifty- 
four years of age. His wife survived him ten years. 
Both are buried in Cracow, where handsome monu¬ 
ments stand to their memory. One would judge that 
the queen was of a very masculine type, if the effigy 
on the tomb is a true likeness. 

King Batory did one thing which resulted in as 
much mischief as anything else in the later history 
of Poland, and that was in introducing and favour¬ 
ing the Jesuits. Poland suffered, as did all of Latin 
America, from the unyielding and narrow policy 
of this powerful and aggressive order of priests. 
The educational advancement introduced by them 
did not compensate for the evils that accompanied 
it. A few members of that body had penetrated that 
country prior to his reign, but their first formal in¬ 
troduction and recognition is due to Batory. He 
established a university at Vilna, which was placed 
in charge of this order. Jesuit schools spread all 
over the country. At Riga he ordered a church to 
be taken from the Lutherans and given to the Jes¬ 
uits, and a convent of that order was established in 
that same city. Both of these places were centres 
of non-Catholics. As a result, during his reign there 
were many sanguinary quarrels between the Catho¬ 
lics and Protestants, in which the latter were gener¬ 
ally discomfited. From this time the Romanists had 
the upper hand, and they did not hesitate to force 



The Early Elected Kings 


57 


their power. Many of the prominent families in 
Lithuania left the Dissidents and joined that 
Church. 

It was during the reign of Batory also that the 
results of the strange government of Poland began 
to show in European politics. The effect of the Def¬ 
ormation was being felt all over Europe, and the 
peasants began to have aspirations for better con¬ 
ditions. There was a feeling in the air that the 
power and privilege of the aristocracy must be 
checked. Poland had heretofore stood aloof from 
all the conflicts which agitated the rest of Europe. 
She did not maintain any ambassadors at the other 
courts, for the reason that the nobles feared to en¬ 
trust such a position to any one out of fear that he 
might use it in the interest of the king who had ap¬ 
pointed him. The nobles were jealous of anything 
that gave power or privilege to the sovereign. Only 
occasionally do we read of special embassies being 
sent to foreign courts for extraordinary purposes. 
This was only one of the great mistakes of Poland. 

The death of Batory brought about other violent 
scenes in the Diet, for the country was divided into 
many factions. An Austrian, a Russian, and a 
Swedish prince contested for the throne. Sigismund, 
the Swedish scion, was elected, and his faction took 
Maximillian, the Austrian prince, prisoner. Sigis¬ 
mund was related to the Jagiellos on the female side, 
bis mother having been a sister of Sigismund Au- 



58 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


gustus. This relationship reconciled the Poles to 
his accession. But his claims to the Swedish throne 
brought a series of conflicts between the two coun¬ 
tries. Maximillian likewise contested his claims to 
the Polish throne. Sigismund really seemed to pre¬ 
fer the throne of Sweden, but a large element of the 
Swedes feared him because of his adoption of the 
Roman Catholic religion, and Sweden at this time 
was under the control of the Protestants. He made 
a journey to Sweden, however, and was actually 
crowned king of that country in 1594, upon promis¬ 
ing to allow his subjects religious liberty. He im¬ 
mediately violated these promises, because of his 
inherent bigotry, and returned again to Poland. 
The Swedish throne was declared vacant, and an¬ 
other king was selected. Sigismund headed an ex¬ 
pedition to regain his throne, but was defeated in a 
decisive battle. The later history of Sigismund is 
connected with Poland alone. His marriage to an 
Austrian princess without the consent of the Diet 
was in violation of the pacta conventa, and aroused 
great opposition among the nobles. 

It was during the reign of Sigismund that the 
false Dmitri, who was a disfrocked monk, succeeded 
in placing himself upon the throne of Moscow by the 
aid of Polish arms. This is one of the most curious 
incidents in authentic history. Sigismund, who was 
doubtless encouraged by the Pope, hoped to restore 
Catholicism in Russia. Upon the murder of Dmitri, 



59 


The Early Elected Kings 

after only eleven months’ reign, Sigismund started 
for Moscow. The citizens of Moscow had requested 
the Polish king to send his son to rule over them. 
Russia was then experiencing what historians term 
the 44 Time of Trouble.” Villages had been laid 
waste by the raids and counter-raids of the opposing 
factions. Disorder, confusion and universal discon¬ 
tent prevailed. Any change that promised relief 
seemed better than the anarchy that existed. It is 
always a source of satisfaction to Poles to recall 
how the Russian czar was dragged through the 
streets of Moscow as captive. He was even brought 
back to Warsaw a prisoner, which greatly elated the 
Poles, and died in that city. 

The son of Sigismund, Wladislas, was set upon 
the throne of Moscow, but did not reign there long 
because of the opposition of the Orthodox Church. 
The Poles were unyielding, and the Muscovites 
feared for the supremacy of their faith. A butcher 
of Nijni Novgorod, by name Minin, led the uprising, 
aided by a prince. In six months they moved upon 
Moscow. The Poles were driven out of the Kremlin 
walls in November, 1612; Moscow and Orthodoxy 
were saved. The power of the Russian boyavds 
(nobles) was lessened from this time and the central 
government strengthened; that of the Polish nobles 
continued to increase and the central authority to 
grow weaker. Russia gradually increased in power 
as her rival grew less powerful. The last stage of 





60 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


rivalry between the two powerful Slavonic states 
had been entered upon. 

Insurrections arose within his own kingdom 
among the nobles, which also made considerable 
trouble for Sigismund. Rebellion was even sanc¬ 
tioned by the constitution, if the king failed to be 
obedient, and Sigismund looked upon his own oath 
lightly. The rebels had no good leader, so that the 
king was able to defeat them and restored at least a 
semblance of order. Having no other recourse, they 
were all pardoned. The Cossacks insistently de¬ 
manded representation in the Diet, and their de¬ 
mands were bluntly refused. This led to a bloody 
rebellion which began in the next reign. Sigismund 
died on the 30th of April, 1632, the queen having died 
in the preceding year. His reign was a long one, but 
it was full of disasters for Poland. The country was 
in a condition of decadence. The Dissidents were 
estranged, and the Jesuits were very active. Re¬ 
ligious persecutions against the Orthodox Church 
were common, and altogether this reign was disas¬ 
trous. Severe statutes were passed against all 
forms of heresy. With such acts began a discontent 
which aided in the gradual alienation of large sec¬ 
tions of the country. It was during the time of Sig¬ 
ismund that the Uniates arose, a body which seceded 
from the Orthodox Church. They were received 
into the Catholic fold upon accepting certain articles 
of faith, although allowed to retain their old Sla- 



The Early Elected Kings 


61 


vonic ritual, and to follow their former practice in 
some matters. The Uniates still exist, but they are 
not so strong as in former years, except in Galicia. 

Following Sigismund comes his son, Wladislas IV, 
who was elected by the Diet without serious opposi¬ 
tion. War was again declared against the Russians, 
but it was soon brought to a close after the election 
of Michael Romanov to the vacant throne of Russia. 
He was the first of the family who still rule in that 
kingdom, and the third century since their accession 
has just been celebrated. Wladislas renounced all 
his own claims to the Muscovite throne. This reign 
was disturbed by constant quarrels between Roman 
Catholics and Protestants, and many enactments 
prejudicial to the latter were passed. 

Since the flight of Henry there had been little in¬ 
tercourse between Poland and France. But now 
another embassy, even more resplendent than the 
one sent to invite Henry to become king, was dis¬ 
patched to Paris in 1645 to solicit the hand of the 
princess, Marie Louise, in marriage, as the third 
wife of Wladislas. He had become infatuated with 
this woman through seeing a portrait of her. This 
embassy of Polish nobles with shaved heads, and 
dressed in splendid clothes, made a great impres¬ 
sion in Paris. One can get an idea of the size of 
the retinue when told that thirty footmen, dressed in 
red, followed the head commissioner alone. Pre¬ 
cious stones were worn as jewels and sparkled on 



62 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


their arms. The bishop who accompanied them 
fairly blazed with precious stones. The royal con¬ 
sent was given, and Marie Louise was married by 
proxy in the Palais Royal, and a crown was placed 
upon her head. She was then brought back to Po¬ 
land, and there became the wife of Wladislas. This 
union did not last long, for the king lived less than 
two years after the marriage; but she married his 
successor, and exercised great influence in Polish 
affairs. Wladislas died on the 20th of May, 1648, 
while his kingdom was in the greatest political con¬ 
fusion. 

Wladislas left no children, and the unusual hap¬ 
pened. His brother, John Casimir, or Jan Kazi- 
mierz, who had been a monk, and had actually been 
created a cardinal by the Pope, was elected to suc¬ 
ceed him. His election occurred on the 20th day of 
November, 1648, the interregnum being unusually 
brief, and he was crowned on the 17th of January 
following. The Russian czar, the father of Peter 
the Great, had himself been a candidate for the 
throne. It is of Casimir that Byron speaks as fol¬ 
lows: 

“ He made no wars, and did not gain 
New realms to lose them back again, 

And, (save debates in Warsaw’s diet) 

He reign’d in most unseemly quiet.” 

This verse is not true to fact, however, for almost 
the entire reign of Casimir was filled with disturb- 





The Early Elected Kings 


63 


ances. When he came to the throne the Cossacks, 
under Chmielnicki, were in rebellion, and were 
united with the Tartars under Tugai Bey. They 
were Orthodox in faith, and were dissatisfied over 
the restrictions under which they laboured. One of 
their hetmans, who had gone to Warsaw, had been 
treacherously killed. With them also it was to some 
extent a holy war, for both Roman Catholics and 
Jews were a special object of hatred. When Casi- 
mir tried to negotiate peace, Chmielnicki said: 
“ The time for negotiations is past. At first I took 
up arms for my own injuries — now I fight for the 
true faith . 9 9 He finally appealed to the Russian 
Czar, and placed himself and his followers under 
the protection of Moscow. 

The rebellion lasted for several years. It is this 
rebellion that Sienkiewicz has immortalized in 
“ With Fire and Sword.’’ No more vivid picture of 
the lawlessness that prevailed over the Ukraine 
could be portrayed than this work. The massacres 
and cruelties were as barbaric as took place on the 
American frontier during the western march of the 
white man. The final battle was fought at Zbaraz, 
a town now in Austrian Poland, and only a few 
miles from Tarnopol. Nine thousand picked Polish 
warriors defended themselves at Zbaraz against a 
combined Tartar and Cossack army estimated at one 
hundred thousand or more. The old castle and a 
part of the old wall still remain. The modern town 



64 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


contains some six or seven thousand inhabitants, 
most of whom are Jews. 

During the reign of John Casimir occurred the 
first incident in which a member of the Diet brought 
the proceedings to a close by the exercise of the 
liberum veto. In Polish it is called nieposwalam, 
meaning “ I forbid,’ ’ or “I protest.” Casimir 
made an elaborate expedition against the Cossacks, 
and for this received a sacred helmet and sword 
from Pope Innocent X, who regarded any victory 
over a non-Catholic as worthy of such decorations. 
Casimir also had the ambition to become King of 
Sweden, but by this time a vigorous ruler was on 
that throne with the name of Charles Gustavus. He 
made an expedition against the Poles, aided by Po¬ 
lish rebels, and both Warsaw and Cracow submitted 
to him, while the king fled to Silesia. His subjects 
rallied around him, however, so that he eventually 
recovered the lost territory and drove the Swedes 
out of the country. He married his brother’s 
widow, the French princess. It is said on good au¬ 
thority that the Swedish king actually proposed the 
dismemberment of the country to the Elector of 
Brandenburg, by which that prince would get Great 
Poland, which did eventually fall to his succes¬ 
sors. Casimir finally gave up all pretensions to 
the throne of Sweden, and ceded the province of 
Livonia to that country. Smolensk and Kiev 
were also granted to the Czar Alexis, but the 



The Early Elected Kings 65 

latter was to have been given back in two years 
time. 

The reign of Casimir was unfortunate in many 
ways, both in its internal policy and in its foreign 
relations. Personally he was an amiable, but rather 
weak man. The king himself seemed to be entirely 
at the mercy of the queen, who was ambitious, and 
the Jesuits. It was not to be expected that a man 
who had taken the vows of a monk would be very 
liberal in his religious sympathies. Going against 
his advice, the nobles refused to permanently settle 
the question of succession, and it was then that Cas¬ 
imir spoke words which seem prophetic, as follows: 

“ I hope I may be a false prophet in stating that 
you have to fear the dismemberment of the repub¬ 
lic. The Russians will attempt to seize the grand 
duchy of Lithuania as far as the rivers Bug and 
Narew, and almost to the Vistula. The Elector of 
Brandenburg will have a design on Great Poland 
and the neighbouring palatinates, and will contend 
for the aggrandizement of both Prussians. The 
house of Austria will turn its attention to Cracow 
and the adjacent palatinates.” 

Queen Marie Louise died in 1667, and this event 
seems to have greatly affected John Casimir. He 
was now sixty-eight years of age; he was worn out 
by the factious spirit of the Diet and the nobility in 
general. He consulted other sovereigns about re¬ 
signing, but they attempted to dissuade him. Never- 



66 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


theless lie finally reached an unalterable determina 
tion, being thoroughly weary of his position as 
ruler, and resigned the sceptre on the 16th of Sep 
tember, 1668, in the following words: 

“ It is now two hundred and eighty years that you 
have been governed by my family. The reign of my 
ancestors is past, and mine is going to expire. Fa¬ 
tigued by the labours of war, the cares of the cabi¬ 
net, and the weight of age; oppressed with the bur¬ 
dens and solicitudes of a reign of more than twenty- 
one years; — I, your king and father, return into 
your hands what the world esteems above all things 
— a crown; and choose for my throne six feet of 
earth, where I shall sleep in peace with my fathers.’’ 

After his abdication John Casimir retired to 
France, where he was made abbot of a monastery 
until his death in 1672. It is stated, however, upon 
quite good authority, that he again threw off his 
monastic garb in order to marry a woman with 
whom he had fallen in love — a laundress. In his 
early years Casimir had been held a prisoner in 
France, while travelling through that country. His 
body was removed to Cracow several years after his 
death, and was buried in the cathedral. With him 
ended the old line of Piasts, the Jagiellos, and the 
branch line known as the Yasas, who, with the ex¬ 
ceptions of Henry and Batory, had ruled the coun¬ 
try from the time of its inception. 



CHAPTER V 


JOHN SOBIESKI 

Michael Korybut — Election of Sobieski — Turkish Invasion of Austria 
— r Sobieski’s great victory at Vienna — His political troubles — 
His marital troubles — Loss of Kiev and Smolensk — His death. 

One of the greatest men ever produced by Poland 
was that inveterate enemy of the Turk, John Sobi¬ 
eski. We begin to read of him in the closing years 
of the reign of John Casimir, for his victories over 
the enemies of his country. By the time of the 
abdication of Casimir he had already made a great 
name for himself. Sobieski threw the strength of 
his support to the Prince of Conde. Even with all 
the turbulence that attended the various Polish 
kings, there were still found many candidates who 
were willing to assume this troublesome sceptre. 
At the election Diet of 1660 a number of the power¬ 
ful nobles brought with them armed dragoons. One 
of the Radziwells is said to have brought with him 
such a private army numbering more than six hun¬ 
dred men. It is not surprising that some of the del¬ 
egates were killed in the confusion and excitement 
that ensued. 

The successful candidate for the throne was 
Michael Korybut, a Polish gentleman, rather ob¬ 
scure, unknown, and even deformed, who had never 
67 


68 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


held a public office or even transacted any public 
business. He was so poor that few bad considered 
bis candidacy. But be bad some of the ancient 
Piast blood in bis veins. It was simply one of those 
inexplicable movements that occasionally occur in 
national history. It is even said Michael accepted 
this unexpected honour with apprehension. He 
shrank from the strife of the field of battle, and had 
practically shut himself up in a monastery at War¬ 
saw in the hopes that he might live his life unob¬ 
served. He was practically dragged to the throne, 
and is said to have wept at being obliged to wear a 
crown. The nobles swore not to invoke the liberum 
veto, but the same Diet was brought to an end by 
its use. It was not long, however, that Michael was 
obliged to wear a crown, willingly or unwillingly, as 
he expired at Lemberg after having reigned a little 
over four years, and in the thirty-fifth year of his 
age. His death was so sudden that it was believed 
by many to have been the result of some kind of 
poison. Those who do not accept this view say that 
it was due to his own gluttony. His character seems 
to have been really contemptible, and it is almost 
impossible to find any compensating qualities in his 
life. Poland had indeed sunk into a debased con¬ 
dition at this period in her history. But a brighter 
day was approaching. 

After the death of Michael Korybut, one of the 
most turbulent Diets in Polish history met at War- 



John Sobieski 


69 


saw in April, 1674, to elect a successor. There were 
several candidates for the position, among them 
being Charles of Lorain, Philip of Nenbnrg, and the 
Prince of Conde. The first named was Austria’s 
choice, the second France’s protege, and the third 
was the favourite of a large element of the Poles 
themselves. France and Austria were always rivals 
in the effort to influence the election of Poland’s 
kings. 

While the Diet was in its most turbulent condi¬ 
tion, one of the nobles was heard above all the other 
confusion to say: “ No more foreigners. Let a Pole 
rule over Poland. Among us is a man who, having 
saved the state ten times by his counsels and his 
victories, is regarded by all the world, as well as by 
ourselves, as the greatest, the first of the sons of 
Poland.” Then at the close of this speech, advo¬ 
cating the choice of one of their own number, he 
shouted: “ Take for your king John Sobieski.” 

Sobieski was not without his enemies, and these 
made themselves heard. It was late in the evening, 
and many wanted to make a choice that night, as 
they had become tired of the sittings. Sobieski 
himself made a speech advising delay until the 
morning, but it was this speech that won him his 
election, and he was at once chosen king, with the 
title of John III, on the 19th of May, 1674. 

John Sobieski had already made a reputation for 
himself as a soldier in leading Polish troops against 




70 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


Poland’s enemies, and in particular the Turks. The 
victory of Chocim, over the Turks, on the day fol¬ 
lowing Michael’s death, had placed him before the 
people in the light of a popular hero. During the 
latter part of Michael’s reign he had practically 
wielded the sceptre. He was descended from illus¬ 
trious ancestors. Both his father and grandfather 
had distinguished themselves in Polish history, the 
former being castellan of Cracow. He had studied 
the art of war in France, whither he had been sent 
in his youth. There he joined in all the frivolity of 
that age. But he soon afterwards threw aside dis¬ 
sipation, and developed into the greatest warrior 
of his age. In person this king is described by a 
contemporary writer, quoted by Mr. Morfill, 1 as 4 4 a 
tall and corpulent prince, large-faced, and full eyed, 
and goes always in the same dress with his sub¬ 
jects, with his hair cut round about his ears like a 
monk, and wears a fur cap, but extraordinary rich 
with diamonds and jewels, large whiskers (mous¬ 
taches) and no neck-cloth. . . . He carries always 
a large scimitar by his side, the sheath equally flat 
and broad from the handle to the bottom, and curi¬ 
ously set with diamonds.” 

Some enthusiasts acclaim Sobieski’s election as a 
popular uprising on the part of the people, while 
others charge him with continual and deliberate 

1 This quotation, as well as some other citations where specific 
credit is not given, is from the “ Story of Poland,” by W. R. Morfill, 
published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons of London and New York. 



John Sobieski 


71 


scheming for the election. I am inclined to the lat¬ 
ter view as the more natural one, but that does not 
discredit him or his patriotism. He was far supe¬ 
rior to most of his predecessors. War with the 
Turks began so soon after Sobieski’s election that 
the coronation ceremonies had to be delayed while 
he took the field against the enemy. He fought the 
Turks with a vengeance, as though each one was a 
personal enemy to be destroyed. 

It was ten years after his election that Sobieski’s 
greatest military triumph came, and one which is 
noted in the worlds annals. This was the rescue 
of Vienna from the Turks. The Moslem general, 
Kara Mustapha, with a force of three hundred thou¬ 
sand men, had marched in from Belgrade, burning 
and plundering all before him wherever resistance 
was offered, and was now besieging Austria’s cap¬ 
ital. He had been joined by the Hungarians, who 
were in revolt against Leopold of Austria, and his 
journey through Hungary had been practically un¬ 
opposed. The besiegers had thrown themselves 
around that city in a crescent formation. The 
march of the Turks had been like an Oriental inva¬ 
sion, for in addition to men and horses they had 
herds of camels and buffaloes. Sobieski himself 
writes of the luxury of the Turkish camp. “It is 
impossible to describe,” says he in a letter to his 
wife, “ the refinement of luxury which the Vizier 
had collected in his tents. There were baths, little 



72 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 

gardens with fountains, even a parrot, which our 
soldiers pursued but could not capture.” 

The Austrian emperor, Leopold, fled in terror 
from his capital of Vienna, followed by the princi¬ 
pal nobility. An urgent call came to Sobieski to lead 
his Polish troops to the defence of Christendom. A 
little matter of etiquette and personal pride nearly 
defeated this coalition. Sobieski declined to lend 
aid unless Leopold addressed him as “ His Maj¬ 
esty,” and Leopold refused for some time. At last 
the Austrian emperor reluctantly yielded, and So¬ 
bieski at once sent a message that he would start 
for Vienna just as soon as his troops could be ready. 
Leopold had become very humble, for he writes: 
“ It is not, therefore, your troops, sire, that we ex¬ 
pect, but your majesty’s own presence; being fully 
persuaded that if your royal presence will vouch¬ 
safe to appear at the head of our forces, though less 
numerous than those of the enemy, your name alone, 
which is so justly dreaded by them, will make the 
defeat certain.” He had now been king for several 
years, and during the last five years he had not 
taken any active part in warfare, as peace had 
reigned in Poland. It was only an external peace, 
however, for never before had thq assemblies of the 
nobles been so rebellious; never before had such 
anarchistic conditions existed in the political life. 

The force within the walls of Vienna was com¬ 
paratively small — only about twenty thousand 



John Sobieski 


73 


armed men — and the hardships were increasing 
daily because of the large number of non-combatants 
who had to be fed. There were mines and counter¬ 
mines; ferocious assaults of the enemy were met 
by the determined resistance of the defenders. 
Courage and intrepidity were everywhere exhibited. 
By the time Sobieski approached Vienna his army 
was swelled to some seventy thousand men, made 
up of Poles and Germans. The city was almost in 
its last gasp. A serious fire, and disease due to poor 
food, had added to the horrors of the continual bom¬ 
bardment. The heroism of a Pole, named Kolszicki, 
who acted as a spy, is noted in Vienna. Conversant 
with the Turkish language and customs, he success¬ 
fully passed through the encircling lines and 
reached the Austrian army, but not without many 
exciting adventures. His return trip was equally 
successful, and he brought back a definite promise 
of succor. As a reward Kolszicki was given per¬ 
mission to establish the first coffee-house in Vienna. 
This is the reason — so it is said — that Vienna 
rolls came to be made in the shape of the crescent. 

On the 12th day of September, 1683 (Sunday), 
after mass had been heard, Sobieski appeared at the 
head of his troops with his head shaven after the 
Polish fashion, and started the assault. He at once 
saw the weak points of the enemy’s position. 
“ This man,” says he, “ is badly encamped; he 
knows nothing of war; we shall certainly beat him. 



74 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


The Turkish army had begun to become demoral¬ 
ized by the length of the siege, disease and super¬ 
stition. The assault was made simultaneously on 
the centre and wings of the enemy. Sobieski kept 
himself in the thickest of the battle, crying: “ Not 
to us, not to us, 0 Lord, but to thy name be the 
glory.’’ The Turks, although greatly outnumber¬ 
ing their assailants, were overpowered by the fiery 
onslaught of the Poles. Several of the pashas were 
slain, and the Vizier himself fled with the remnant of 
his army. “ I told you,” one of the generals is 
reported to have told the Grand Vizier, after he had 
recognized Sobieski, “ that if we had to deal with 
him (Sobieski), all we could do would be to run 
away.” This unfortunate officer was compelled to 
submit to death for this defeat. But he did so 
stoically. When he beheld the messengers of the 
sultan approach, he yielded to the bow-string and 
his head was sent to the sultan. The skull may now 
be seen in the Arsenal Museum of Vienna. 

“ ... the Imperial City stands released 

From bondage threatened by the embattled East, 

And Christendom respires; from guilt and shame 
Redeemed, from miserable fear set free 
By one day’s feat, one mighty victory. 

— Chant the Deliverer’s praise in every tongue I ” 

The booty yielded by this victory was immense, 
and Sobieski’s share alone is said to have yielded 
several million ducats. Everything was abandoned 



John Sobieski 


75 


by the frenzied Turks in their mad flight. Rich 
tents, superb equipages, and jewelled weapons were 
among the trophies. The people in the besieged 
city went wild over the Polish hero; people fell on 
their faces before his horse, and even kissed his 
boots. In a letter he says: “ I have been in two 
churches, where the people kissed my hands, feet, 
and clothes; others, who could only touch me at 
a distance, cried out, 4 Ah! let me kiss your victori¬ 
ous hands/ ” Te Deum was celebrated in St. Ste¬ 
phen’s Cathedral. The preacher used for his text: 
“ There was a man sent from God, whose name was 
John.” The people had already suffered much 
from hunger and the plague. 

Excellent accounts of this battle are given in the 
letters written by Sobieski to his wife, which are 
still preserved. He addresses her as “ Only joy of 
my soul, charming and much-loved Marietta.” He 
took one of the finely enamelled stirrups of the 
Vizier and gave it to an orderly, saying: 44 Take 
this stirrup to the queen, and tell her that the per¬ 
son to whom it belonged is defeated.” Europe 
went wild with praises of the Polish king that is, 
all except France, and Louis XIV could see good m 
nothing that saved the integrity of Austria. In the 
following year Sobieski won another victory over 
the Turks, and took possession of Moldavia. With 
his Turkish captives he built the fine mansion near 
Warsaw known as Willanow. 



76 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


The real troubles of the reign of John III Sobieski 
began soon after his great victory over the Turks. 
Constant disputes in the Diet embittered his reign, 
the Jesuits caused trouble, and he meditated abdi¬ 
cating on at least two occasions. The rebellious 
Diet exhibited more anarchy than ever before. The 
Jesuit trouble he succeeded in managing fairly well, 
and he checked their effrontery. But in the Diet he 
sometimes was obliged to endure actual insult from 
some of the most turbulent members. Some of the 
meetings resembled riots rather than legislative 
sessions. He attempted some rather high-handed 
measures, such as calling the Diet one year for War¬ 
saw when it should have met at Grodno. This an¬ 
gered the Lithuanians, and they refused to come. 
The tribunals were everywhere exceedingly corrupt. 
But his greatest troubles were domestic. 

The wife of Sobieski was a French woman, named 
Marie Casimire, who had originally been maid of 
honour to Queen Marie Louise, wife to the two pre¬ 
ceding Polish kings. She, herself, had been mar¬ 
ried to Count Zamoyski, and afterwards became the 
wife of Sobieski. She might really be termed a sort 
of adventuress. One could judge from the letters 
of Sobieski to his wife, which have been preserved, 
that she was jealous, for he is continually protest¬ 
ing his love and affection for her. Sobieski was a 
man of rather simple tastes, and was accused of 
being niggardly, but his wife was ambitious, rapa- 





John Sobieski 


77 


cious and revengeful both by nature and training. 
As a result she was continually fostering discon¬ 
tentment at home and in the court, and undid much 
that her husband attempted to accomplish. The 
pacta conventa, which each king was obliged to sub¬ 
scribe, expressly forbade female influence in the 
policy of the kingdom, but Marie managed her hus¬ 
band, and sometimes the Diet, according to her own 
sweet will. She attended all the debates, so we are 
told, being hid so that she could not be seen. So¬ 
bieski was passionately fond of his wife, even when 
he must have known of her real character. She was 
very vain, and her court consisted of an even dozen 
of ladies-in-waiting —all daughters of palatines, 
and' of the highest rank. At Willanow is shown the 
cabinet used by her, which reveals her vanity. In 
this room her own portrait is set at every conve¬ 
nient point of vantage. In her youth she is said to 
have been unusually handsome. 

Sobieski was versatile, and is said to have been 
able to converse in Latin, French, Italian, German, 
and the Turkish languages, in addition to his own. 
He was greatly devoted to science as well. The 
years and physical ailments at last began to tell on 
the king, but when a suggestion was made to him by 
a bishop, quotes Mr. Morfill, at the request of his 
wife, that he ought to make a will, he said rather 
sarcastically:* * My orders are not attended to while 
I am alive; can I expect to be obeyed when I am 



78 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


dead! Have not the regulations made by the kings 
my predecessors been despised after their deaths! 
Where corruption universally prevails, judgment is 
obtained by money; the voice of conscience is not 
heard, and reason and equity are no more.” 

Sobieski clearly saw the ills which his country, 
suffered. He died on the 17th of June, 1696, and 
was buried in the Wawel with the other Polish 
kings. His wife, the beautiful and capricious Marie, 
to whom Sobieski addressed such loving epistles, 
and whom he styled the only joy of his soul, spent 
her later years either at Rome or in a French castle 
given her by Louis XIV, where she died in 1716. 
Her remains were likewise conveyed to Cracow and 
interred in the cathedral. The Sobieski family is 
now extinct, although he left several sons and a 
daughter. A granddaughter married James Stuart, 
the pretender to the English throne, and she is 
buried in St. Peter’s at Rome. It was a supposed 
descendant who is made the hero of the novel 
“ Thaddeus of Warsaw,” which has been read by 
so many thousands. 

As a result of the continual wars in Sobieski’s 
reign the common people suffered a great deal, as 
they were called upon to make heavy contributions 
to meet the necessary expenses. At the same time 
the nobles lived in the greatest luxury. A nobleman 
would not think of making a call except in a carriage 
drawn by a half-dozen horses. The greatest pomp 



John Sobieski 


79 


was shown at marriages and funerals. With all the 
virtue inherent in Sobieski, the decline of Poland 
undoubtedly began during his reign. In war he was 
a lion, but in peace he was the plaything of others. 
There were at all times corrupt nobles in the pay 
of other nations who were ready to make trouble. 

Sobieski ceded to Russia the cities of Kiev and 
Smolensk, and also granted to Russia the protection 
of the members of the Orthodox Church. This al¬ 
lowed the entering of the wedge which finally re¬ 
sulted in the destruction of Poland, for it finally led 
the Cossacks of the Ukraine to welcome the protec¬ 
tion of Russia. This act was likewise done without 
the consent of the Diet. He was paid a large sum 
of money down by Russia, with the promise of 
further remittances, so that this treaty was looked 
upon as bought and a disgraceful yielding. It 
stands as one indelible blot on the character of a 
man who was truly a great man. But he really out¬ 
lived his glory. During the last few years of his 
life he was practically in his dotage. He was the 
last king of Poland who might be termed an inde¬ 
pendent monarch, for foreign influence became more 
and more marked in the time of his successors. 



CHAPTER VI 


THE BEGINNING OF DECADENCE 

The Electors of Saxony — Augustus II takes the Polish throne — Peter 
the Great and Charles XII — Stanislaus Leszczynski — Religious 
intolerance — Russia becomes dominant — Augustus III — The 
Saxon rule unfortunate. 

After the death of Sobieski began the real de¬ 
cline of Poland. Heretofore there had been at least 
flashes of grandeur; now all was gloom, turmoil 
and decay, with complete annihilation less than a 
century distant. The use of foreign troops in pla¬ 
cing and supporting the king upon the throne is in¬ 
troduced to the great detriment of the country. A 
great confusion arose over the question of a suc¬ 
cessor to John III Sobieski. One faction desired 
the election of James Sobieski, son of the deceased 
king, and at one time a large faction appears to 
have favoured him; but it is said that his mother 
did all she could to prevent his election, and prob¬ 
ably was instrumental in making it impossible. 

The two leading candidates for the throne of 
Poland were the Prince of Conti, a nephew of 
Louis XIV of France, and the most popular with 
the Poles, and Frederick Augustus, Elector of Sax¬ 
ony. The latter was a young, wealthy and ambitious 
man. Formerly he had been a Lutheran, which 
80 


The Beginning of Decadence 81 

raised considerable opposition from the clergy, but 
about three years before this he had abjured that 
faith and embraced Catholicism. At the election 
held on the 27th of June, 1697, both candidates were 
elected king by their partisans. The archbishop, 
however, declared Conti king; but Augustus had ten 
thousand Saxon soldiers behind him, and this was a 
great element of strength in the condition of the 
Poland of that day. It was necessary that Augustus 
be crowned king, and this requirement presented 
some difficulties. All of the regalia was locked up 
in the treasury at Cracow in the keeping of officers 
opposed to him. The law forbade the breaking of 
the doors, but they got around this by breaking 
down the walls and secured the regalia. As the 
archbishop was opposed to the Saxon candidate, his 
office was declared vacant and a new archbishop ap¬ 
pointed. There was still another impediment. It 
was necessary that the funeral of the late king pre¬ 
cede the crowning, and the corpse was in the hands 
of the opposing party at Warsaw. An effigy was 
secured, over which funeral ceremonies were held; 
the coronation followed, and the Elector of Saxony 
was proclaimed king under the title of Augustus II. 

Poland at this time was rent between the factions 
of the Sapiehas and Oginskis, who carried on open 
warfare with each other. The pacta conventa re¬ 
quired Augustus to dismiss his Saxon troops, as the 
employment of foreign soldiers was forbidden. He 



82 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 

felt that his own position was too insecure to war¬ 
rant this, so, as a pretext, he employed these soldiers 
in warring against the Turks, which was always 
popular with the Poles because of their religious 
hatred. When that war was settled, he found an¬ 
other pretext for retaining them in some grievance 
against Sweden. Without the consent of the Diet 
he entered into a secret treaty with Peter the Great 
to wrest some of the Swedish possessions from that 
country. These two monarchs met in the town of 
Birze, and it is said that the meeting was character¬ 
ized more by its drunkenness and debauchery than 
the dignity which should have characterized a meet¬ 
ing of the rulers of two important nations. 

Peter and Augustus, however, did not know the 
youthful King of Sweden, Charles XII. This king 
was only eighteen years old at that time, but he was 
destined to wield a great influence in Europe for a 
few years. As soon as he was apprised of the de¬ 
signs of the Polish and Russian sovereigns, he 
marched against them without any delay. He won 
a notable victory over the Russians at Narva in 
1700, when the Russian forces outnumbered his own 
five to one. Charles was a true knight-errant. The 
spirit of the old Scandinavian Vikings seems to have 
been revived in him. Their deeds and the career of 
Alexander the Great were ever before his eyes. 

‘ ‘ He dreams of nothing but war; he behaves as one 
who thinks that God directly inspires him for what 




PETER THE GREAT 




































































































































The Beginning of Decadence 


83 


he has to do,” wrote one of his generals. He 
seemed to consider war as a combat between cham¬ 
pions, which could only be ended by the death or 
dethronement of the vanquished. He hesitated at 
no danger; he was as pitiless to himself as to his 
followers. 

The faction opposed to the Saxon king welcomed 
the approach of Charles. When messengers came 
to Charles with proposals of peace, he answered: “ I 
will make peace at Warsaw.” He made good his 
word, and, although vigorously opposed by Augus¬ 
tus, he entered Warsaw practically unopposed on 
the 5th of May, 1702. Cracow likewise yielded to 
the Swedish arms. Augustus reassembled his 
troops and prepared for a final battle. “ I will not 
go,” said Charles, “ till I have dethroned the King 
of Poland.” Augustus fled to Saxony, taking with 
him, as a precaution, James and Constantine So- 
bieski. The throne being thus vacated, it only re¬ 
mained for Charles to place some one upon it. One 
son of the late Sobieski, Alexander, was still in the 
country, but he refused to accept the proffered 
crown. Others were neither so disinterested nor 
so timid, and one of these was a young man by the 
name of Stanislaus Leszczynski, who was palatine 
of Posen. He had been sent at the head of an em¬ 
bassy to Charles, and that monarch was so well 
pleased with the ambassador that he decided upon 
him for the Polish throne. The Diet in July, 1705, 



84 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


formally decreed the abdication of Augustus, and 
on the 4th of October the new king was crowned. 

Stanislaus was descended from an illustrious 
Polish family, and his father was one of the pala¬ 
tines. At this time he was only twenty-seven years 
of age. Perhaps his youth appealed to the Swedish 
king, for he himself was still younger. He had the 
polish of education and travel, and an agreeable 
personality, as well as a rather prepossessing ap¬ 
pearance. There were other candidates, and the 
election Diet that was called was not entirely unan¬ 
imous. Such a thing as this, however, did not af¬ 
fect Charles. Stanislaus Leszczynski was declared 
king of Poland, and the election duly registered. 
Charles sent an embassy to the new king, and also 
gave him some soldiers to maintain his new dignity. 

Stanislaus was no sooner seated on the throne 
than Augustus marched against him with an army 
of twenty thousand Saxons. Peter also gave Au¬ 
gustus support, as the two had had a secret inter¬ 
view over the situation. Stanislaus barely escaped 
capture by his rival in the confused state of affairs. 
Again was Charles compelled to enter Poland, in 
order to make the throne of his protege more stable. 
Charles and Stanislaus joined their forces at Lem¬ 
berg. With characteristic energy Charles followed 
Augustus into Saxony, being determined to put an 
end to the matter for all time. He compelled Au¬ 
gustus to sign a humiliating treaty, and to write a 




STANISLAUS LESZCZYNSKI 

























The Beginning of Decadence 


85 


letter of congratulation to Stanislaus upon liis ac¬ 
cession to tlie throne. An instance of the barbaric 
side of Charles is shown in his treatment of one of 
his enemies, Patkul, a nobleman of Courland, whom 
he compelled Augustus to surrender. After being 
kept a prisoner for a few months, he was broken on 
the wheel in the most horrible manner. 

The troubles of Stanislaus did not end, however, 
even with the forced abdication of Augustus, for 
Peter the Great was not idle. The news that Augus¬ 
tus had been dethroned was not pleasing to Peter. 
Charles invaded Russian territory on the invitation 
of the Hetman of the Ukraine. This was his un¬ 
doing. The final battle between these monarchs was 
fought at Poltava, with the result that Charles was 
defeated and fled to Turkey for protection. Augus¬ 
tus, upon hearing of the defeat of Charles, returned 
to Poland, and resumed the diadem. Turkey at first 
agreed to take up the cause of both Charles and 
Stanislaus, but the sultan changed his mind and the 
troops were not forthcoming. Stanislaus, not wish¬ 
ing to involve his country in bloodshed, agreed to 
abdicate. The consent of Charles was necessary to 
this, however, and he went secretly to Turkey to 
interview that monarch. Peter the Great sent Rus¬ 
sian troops into Poland to sustain Augustus on the 
throne. The expected return of the Swedish mon¬ 
arch was a pretext for Augustus to retain the Saxon 
troops in Poland for several years. In the end, how- 



86 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


ever, they were dismissed, and this made Augustus 
more popular. Stanislaus had reigned less than five 
years, but Poland certainly lost a good king. His 
subsequent life gives an indication of what he might 
have done for his unfortunate country. Poltava 
may have been a good thing for Russia, but it was 
a bad thing for Poland. 

Religious differences caused considerable trouble 
about this time. The most serious conflict took place 
in the streets of Thorn. In a public procession 
some pupils, who were Lutherans, refused to kneel, 
the majority of the inhabitants of Thorn being 
Lutherans. An offending Jesuit was taken into cus¬ 
tody. The Jesuits demanded his release, and upon 
this being refused attacked the citizens and more 
blood was shed. The citizens broke open the Jesuit 
college, plundered it, and profaned even an image 
of the Virgin. The Catholics of Poland, enraged at 
this action, retaliated with fanatical zeal. The mag¬ 
istrates were condemned to capital punishment for 
not averting the trouble, and seven citizens suffered 
a like fate. Three persons accused of throwing the 
Virgin image into the fire lost their right arms, and 
the whole city was deprived of its freedom of public 
worship. In 1715 a Protestant was condemned to 
have his tongue torn out, his right hand cut off, and 
his body burned because of some trifling criticisms 
of the Church, which were termed blasphemy. The 
persecuted Dissidents carried their complaints to 



The Beginning of Decadence 87 

the Protestant princes of other lands. At this time, 
however, religions toleration had not gained much 
headway in any country of Europe, and the Cath¬ 
olics even in England were compelled to suffer for 
their faith. The protests of Protestant powers 
which poured in only served to increase the perse¬ 
cutions in Poland. The king himself was inclined 
to be liberal, but he had not the courage to attempt 
to curb the intolerance of the clergy. The Dissi¬ 
dents were finally proclaimed incapable of enjoying 
any office or dignity. 

Augustus spent the latter part of his reign in an 
attempt to make the crown hereditary. He had not 
succeeded in this at the time of his death, on the 
1st of January, 1733. He was a voluptuous mon¬ 
arch, and he left his country much worse than he 
found it. The province of Courland was practically 
lost to Poland, and was allowed to be ruled by 
Russia. He was a man of only ordinary ability, and 
even this was swallowed up in his vices. He had 
succeeded in dragging down with him many nobles, 
and the general standard of morals and honour was 
greatly lowered. The word worthless seems well 
applied to this man both in his private and public 
character. 

Upon the death of Augustus, the Poles turned 
once more with longing eyes to their former king, 
Stanislaus, whose virtues had by this time become 
better known. He, at this time, was living in 



88 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


France, upon a small pension which was very ir¬ 
regularly paid. Several attempts had been made 
upon his life, for which Augustus was generally 
blamed. The marriage of his daughter to the 
French king, Louis XV, placed behind him powerful 
influence. He hesitated to come, knowing the turbu¬ 
lence that would probably follow. He learned that 
the Russians, Germans and Austrians would all at¬ 
tempt to intercept him if he went to Poland. By 
this time Prussia had grown to be a formidable 
power through the ascendancy of the House of 
Brandenburg. To make the journey secure, a friend 
of his disguised himself as Stanislaus, and was os¬ 
tentatiously put on board a steamer bound for 
Dantzig. In the meantime the real Stanislaus, in 
disguise, and accompanied by only one general, took 
the overland route through Germany. They trav¬ 
elled as merchants, and succeeded in eluding the 
vigilance of all the guards until they reached War¬ 
saw almost on the eve of the election. 

The unexpected arrival of Stanislaus stifled all 
opposition, and, on the 11th of September, he 
was elected king by the almost unanimous suffrages 
of sixty thousand nobles. Only thirteen dared op¬ 
pose the popular will. But Russia was not to be so 
easily foiled, and her troops entered Polish terri¬ 
tory. The Polish army numbered only a few thou¬ 
sands, but they kept the invading troops at bay for 
some time, while Stanislaus retreated to Dantzig 






MARIA OF POLAND, WIFE OF LOUIS XV, KING OF FRANCE 







































The Beginning of Decadence 


89 


to await the promised French reinforcements. For 
several months this city defended itself, but the king 
decided to leave, since he was the sole object of the 
besiegers, and the French troops sent to his aid 
numbered only sixteen hundred men. He left Dant- 
zig in the disguise of a peasant, and succeeded in 
getting safely beyond the enemy’s lines by the aid 
of some friendly peasants. He was obliged to take 
shelter in a hut near the banks of the Vistula, where 
he could see the city walls crumbling before the ar¬ 
tillery fire of the Russians. Unmanned at this, the 
king shed tears. He was constantly in danger of 
falling into the hands of Russian or Cossack troops. 
He arrived safely at a town on the Prussian fron¬ 
tier, where he was kindly received by Frederick I. 
From thence he proceeded leisurely to Lorraine. 

In 1735 a treaty was signed at Vienna by which 
Stanislaus renounced the crown of Poland, but was 
given possession of his hereditary estates. He was 
also allowed to retain the title of king. His later 
years were devoted to literature and philosophy, 
and he was given the title of Stanislaus the Benevo¬ 
lent in the two duchies of Lorraine and Bar, over 
which he ruled. He lived to the advanced age of 
eighty-nine, and his death was the result of acci¬ 
dentally setting fire to his own clothes. He died on 
the 23rd of February, 1766, and was buried at 
Nancy. 

The successor of Stanislaus on this occasion was 



90 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


a son of the preceding Augustus, who took the title 
of Augustus III. If peace alone could have brought 
prosperity to Poland, it would have come during this 
reign. Augustus avoided the wars, and devoted 
himself solely to the amusements of society and 
hunting. His taste was luxurious, but, in contrast 
to his father, his own life was exemplary. He left 
the control of affairs to his prime minister, Count 
Briihl. Of Augustus, the Countess Krasinska says 
in her “ Journal ” (1759), which has been trans¬ 
lated and published: “ The king ... is a kindly 
but rather weak character, and he has the greatest 
confidence in his minister Briihl, who in reality is 
the ruler of both Poland and Saxony. It is said 
affairs are going all wrong in Saxony, and not much 
better in our country. I have often heard people 
say: ‘ We need a Frederick the Great, with a strong 
hand and an iron will; 9 and as our king is old, they 
are all looking and planning already for his suc¬ 
cessor/’ 

It is said that Augustus was always glad to have 
the liberum veto exercised, because it relieved him 
from the trouble of considering legislation. He was 
generally contriving to get one of the deputies to 
exercise this right. On one occasion no one would 
do this, so he took the trouble to search the law to 
find some way in which he could dissolve the Diet 
himself. He discovered that it was illegal to debate 
by candle-light. Accordingly he ordered his parti- 





AUGUSTUS III 


















































































































The Beginning of Decadence 


91 


sans to prolong the debate until night, and then 
called for candles. When these were brought and 
lighted, he informed them that this was a violation 
of the laws, and the Diet was at once dissolved. 

The reign of Augustus lasted for thirty years. 
At the end of that time all business was stagnated, 
and public business was practically at an end be¬ 
cause of the inactivity of the king. He had no sym¬ 
pathy with his Polish subjects, and did not even 
learn the language. During his last years there was 
considerable plotting for the throne, and it looked 
as though he would not be permitted to reign during 
his natural life. The Czartoryski were the most 
active, and it is supposed that they themselves had 
an eye to the throne. The Russians marched their 
troops across Polish territory without even so much 
as saying “ by your leave/ ’ which shows how little 
fear her neighbours had of once-powerful Poland. 
The country was in an extremely wretched condi¬ 
tion in every way, and kept growing rapidly worse. 
Augustus himself was ready to abandon the throne 
rather than fight for it. No active outbreak oc¬ 
curred, however, and Augustus passed away on the 
5th of October, 1763, in the sixty-seventh year of his 
age, at Dresden, where he was buried. The setting 
of the stage for the last act in the history of the 
kingdom, or republic, of Poland was now begun by 
the neighbouring powers. 




CHAPTER VII 


THE FIRST PARTITION 


Catherine the Great — Frederick the Great — Maria Theresa — The 
conspiracy and the conspirators — The division of the spoils — 
The Czartoryski — Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski—His liaison 
with Catherine — His election — Troubles begin early — Confed¬ 
eration of Bar — Abduction of Stanislaus — Pulaski. 

First Conspirator: “ When shall we three meet again? 

In thunder, lightning, or rain?” 

Second Conspirator: “ When the dismemberment’s done, 

When Poland’s lost and won.” 

Third Conspirator: “ That will be ere eighteen hundred and one.” 

First Conspirator: “ Where the place? ” 

Second Conspirator: “ Upon the plain.” 

All: “ Fair is foul, and foul is fair, 

Hover through the fog with diplomatic air.” 



This paraphrasing of the well known lines of the 


Bard of Avon might well be the prologue to the 
tragedy of Poland, in which the sovereigns of Rus¬ 
sia, Prussia, and Austria bargained over the terri¬ 
tory of that country like a merchant over a bale of 
goods. All of this was done with a religious solem¬ 
nity, and in the name of the “ invisible Trinity/’ 
And yet each of these rulers had some good qual¬ 
ities. Catherine the Great was a student of the pop¬ 
ular French philosophy of that period. For fifteen 
years she kept up a correspondence with Voltaire. 
She had considerable literary talent, writing both 
books and plays. At heart, and in her philosophi- 

92 



MAP OF 'POLAND 

'Cbe yellow tint shows the kingdom of Poland at its greatest extent. 'Che red lines in¬ 
dicate the present boundaries of Germany, jdustria and Russia. 


































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The First Partition 


93 


zing, Catherine seemed almost republican and essen¬ 
tially democratic. The Hermitage, now the famous 
art gallery of St. Petersburg, was built by her as 
a social retreat, and was connected with the Winter 
Palace. Here she invited the learned men and women 
of the day to meet. Whoever came was obliged to 
drop all rank as soon as he passed through the por¬ 
tal. The empress herself set the example. Each 
violation of the rule subjected that person to a fine. 

But Catherine had another side to her character, 
which was of a more practical nature. She herself, 
a German princess, had usurped the Russian throne 
through a court conspiracy in 1762, in which her 
husband, Peter III, lost his life. Realizing the in¬ 
security of her position, and knowing the deep at¬ 
tachment of the Russians to their religion, she was 
politic enough to pose publicly as the protector of 
the persecuted Orthodox believers in Poland. Her 
real worldly side shows in the question she asked 
when the matter was first presented to the empress. 

“ What advantage will accrue to Russia,” said 
Catherine, “ if I take the part of the Greek Ortho¬ 
dox believers in Poland? ” 

“ Rich territory and a large population,” was the 
answer. 

Frederick the Great was likewise a philosopher. 
In Sans Souci Palace, at Potsdam, we are shown the 
rooms fitted out for Voltaire, and in which that 
philosopher resided many months. King and phi- 



94 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


losoplier used to commune and discuss the greatest 
questions, from the brotherhood of men to the trans¬ 
migration of the soul, for hours at a time. This is 
the side of Frederick’s character that we see in that 
little jewel-box called Sans Souci. But the Polish 
question reveals another side, showing that the 
ideals of philosophy did not counterbalance the 
practical side of Frederick the politician. Freder¬ 
ick publicly espoused the cause of the Lutherans of 
Poland, but that was not the only moving cause in 
his mind. 

“ Do not talk to me of magnanimity,” said Fred¬ 
erick, when argument was brought to bear upon 
him, “ a prince can only study his interest.” 

Maria Theresa of Austria was busy with the af¬ 
fairs of her country, and the private concerns of 
her numerous family. It was no easy matter to ar¬ 
range satisfactory marriages for her many sons 
and daughters among the princes and princesses of 
the day. But Austria had just lost Silesia to Prus¬ 
sia, and so she agreed to the national surgical oper¬ 
ation with an audible sigh. 

“ So be it,” said she, ‘‘ as so many learned men 
desire it; but when I have been long dead, the con¬ 
sequences of this violation of all that until now has 
been deemed holy and just, will be experienced.” 
Maria Theresa seemed to be the only one of the 
three conspirators who had any compunction of con¬ 
science, and her compunctions seem perfunctory 




FREDERICK THE GREAT. 














The First Partition 


95 


rather than sincere. It was like the robber who 
takes your purse, and then says, apologetically: “ I 
beg your pardon/’ But he keeps your purse. 

Maria Theresa took no actual part in the prelim¬ 
inary negotiations over Poland, but was represented 
by her son, Joseph II, who was at that time joint 
sovereign with her. The first interview between 
Frederick the Great and Joseph took place at Neiss, 
on the 25th of August, 1769. The map of Poland 
was placed before the two royal freebooters, and 
they marked out the portion of booty to be assigned 
to each of the three parties, for Catherine was kept 
advised of all that was going on. The Austrians 
seemed to have forgotten all that Sobieski and his 
followers did less than a century before, for they 
should have protected the honour of Poland even if 
the others did not. Furthermore, both Austria and 
Poland were Roman Catholic. But Austria wanted 
territory to make up for the loss of Silesia. 

Each country has made an ingenious explanation 
of its own part in the affair. It is interesting to 
know how three states, naturally hostile to each 
other, forgot their mutual differences and jealousies, 
and attacked a country weaker than any one of the 
conspirators. Maria Theresa hated Catherine of 
Russia, and could only speak of her as “ that 
woman.” In the Seven Years War Austria and 
Prussia, as well as Russia and Prussia, were op¬ 
posed to each other. But ambition and covetous- 



96 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


ness make strange bedfellows. It is a matter of dis¬ 
pute which one first broached the project. Possibly, 
like Topsy, it just grew and never was born. The 
three may just naturally have been drawn together 
by a similarity of designs. Austria made the first 
actual seizure of territory in 1769, when she occu¬ 
pied the district of Zips, and for that reason Fred¬ 
erick tries to shift the odium on Austria. The in¬ 
termediary between Catherine and Frederick was 
Prince Henry, the latter’s brother, who went to St. 
Petersburg by invitation. Catherine would not 
treat with Vienna direct, but left that to her ally. 
The secret contract between these two was signed 
February 17th, 1772, and a few weeks later it was 
approved by Austria. 

All of the three powers published defences of 
their action. But that of Frederick is short and 
characteristic of the man. “ It is a general rule of 
policy,” Frederick is credited with saying, “ that, 
in default of unanswerable arguments, it is better 
to express one’s self laconically and not go beating 
around the bush.” 

Each sovereign tried to prove that his country had 
legitimate claims to a part of Poland, and that the 
violent seizures were only a just resumption of 
sovereignty. Austria went back three hundred and 
sixty years to establish her pretensions. Russia had 
always laid claim to the greater part of Lithuania. 
Prussia’s claims were based on the conquests of the 



The First Partition 


97 


Teutonic Knights, and the strip of Polish territory 
which followed the Vistula River from Thorn to 
Dantzig separated the territory of the Brandenburg 
family into two parts. Frederick says: “ We flatter 
ourselves that when the impartial public has 
weighed without prejudice all that has been done, 
they will not find anything which his majesty has 
done, which is not conformable to justice, to national 
right, and to the general use of nations. We trust 
also that the Polish nation will eventually recover 
its prejudice.’’ 

The late Count Von Moltke, in his excellent treat¬ 
ise on Poland, has given us the real gist of the 
matter. He says: “ The position of Poland made it 
a stumbling-block to powerful neighbours, who had 
in the last centuries made immense progress, and 
whose rapid development was certain to bring about 
their own ruin or to annihilate all obstacles. Both 
Austria and Prussia were unanimous in their opin¬ 
ion, that they would prefer the anarchy of the re¬ 
public, to assisting in turning a good neighbour into 
a powerful monarchy, which would be dangerous to 
all adjoining states.” 

It is certain that neither party consumed much 
time with their explanations. The troops of the 
allies began to pour into the coveted territory, each 
one occupying its portion, and each contributing a 
contingent to encompass Warsaw. The Diet was 
convoked on the 19th of April, 1773, and, by a ma- 



98 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


jority of two votes, and under the pressure of for¬ 
eign bayonets, ratified the plan presented for its own 
spoliation. It had been announced that every 
deputy who opposed the proposals should be treated 
as an enemy of the country and the three powers as 
well. Five patriots held the hall for a time, and the 
others held the session outside to agree to the terms. 
The Diet was nearly a month coming to the agree¬ 
ment, and commissioners were then formally ap¬ 
pointed by the king. By this act Austria received 
an accession of twenty-seven thousand square miles, 
with a population of two million five hundred thou¬ 
sand; Russia received forty-two thousand square 
miles, and a population of one million five hundred 
thousand; the share of Prussia amounted to above 
thirteen thousand square miles, and nine hundred 
thousand souls. Prussia thus came off worst in the 
division of spoils, the other powers refusing at any 
price to permit her to occupy Dantzig, which was 
her greatest desire. These sovereigns had the au¬ 
dacity to say that this movement was “ for the res¬ 
toration of the prosperity of Poland.” 

What were the other powers of Europe doing at 
this time? England had a troublesome Parliament 
on hand, her American colonies were causing much 
trouble because of their stubbornness, and she was 
naturally favourably disposed toward Russia; 
France was exhausted by the lingering decay of her 
own government under Louis XY, her mistresses, 




MARIA THERESA 


























The First Partition 


99 


and fetes; Sweden and Denmark were both ab¬ 
sorbed by affairs at home; and Spain was too re¬ 
mote to be interested. 

Catherine was undpubtedly the arch-conspirator 
in the dismemberment of Poland. Upon the death 
of Augustus III, in 1863, this far-seeing empress 
practically forced one of her paramours, the hand¬ 
some Stanislaus Poniatowski, upon the throne. 
“ That event,’’ says she, 44 was necessary to restore 
the Polish liberty to its ancient lustre, and to des¬ 
troy foreign influence which was the continual 
source of trouble and contest.” Prussia aided in 
this effort. “ I and my ally, the Empress of Rus¬ 
sia,” is the way Frederick spoke of Catherine. 
“ Poland must be left in her lethargy,” he also said. 

“ Kings owe no account of their conduct save to 
God alone,” was a favourite remark of Louis XV 
of France. 

“It is just He whom I fear,” said Maria The¬ 
resa, when pursued by remorse. 

Let us study for a moment the personality and 
lineage of the last king of Poland. 

The most influential family in Poland at this 
time, and generally spoken of as “ The Family,” 
was the Czartoryski. They had held princely rank 
for several centuries, and were of kin to the Jagiel- 
los. Judicious marriages had brought both wealth 
and influence. At this time two brothers, Adam and 
Augustus, were at the head of the family. Both 





100 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


were men of character. Their home at Pulawy, in 
Volhynia, a large stone palace, was famous in Po¬ 
land, and had been for three generations. A high 
level of culture and refinement prevailed at Pulawy, 
which was so marked a contrast to the dissolute 
habits of many of the nobles. It was a resort for 
scholars as well as politicians. A grandson of Au¬ 
gustus was named dictator in the Polish uprising of 
1830. The museum established by this family in 
Cracow contains many literary and historical relics 
of Poland, which were collected together at Pulawy. 

A cousin of these brothers, Adam and Augustus 
Czartoryski, was less of a scholar and more of a 
politician, and was ambitious to be the head of this 
family. It is his son, Stanislaus Augustus Ponia- 
towski, who became the last king of Poland. He was 
born on January 17th, 1732, and was brought up 
very strictly by a pious mother. When he was born, 
some soothsayer predicted that this babe would one 
day wear a crown, and for that reason he was given 
the portentous name of “ Stanislaus Augustus, ” 
the name of two former kings. His youth seems to 
have been characterized by modesty and simplicity. 
All accounts speak of the beauty of this king, and 
the time that he was accustomed to devote to his 
toilet. His chief amusements seem to have been the 
studying of the folds of his cravat, and the care of 
his curls, which he would not even sacrifice at his 
coronation, as had been the customary practice. 



The First Partition 


101 


“ I should be content,” wrote Stanislaus in rather 
a remarkable self-dissertation before he became 
king, “ if I were an inch taller, and my feet were a 
trifle better shaped, and my nose were not so much 
hooked, and my mouth a little smaller. With these 
reservations, I believe that my face is noble and ex¬ 
pressive, my figure not without distinction, and 
capable of attracting attention. ... I don’t think 
I was born to please women. I am attracted to them 
by a general sympathy, but if I love, I love too pas¬ 
sionately. ... I am not pious, naturally — far from 
it; but I venture to affirm that I love God and sur¬ 
render myself to His Will sincerely . 9 91 

A visit to St. Petersburg in 1755, whither Stanis¬ 
laus went as secretary to the English ambassador, 
was his first real experience with the prevailing 
court life of that period; and the court of Russia 
was at that time probably the most corrupt court 
in Europe, excepting only that of Louis XV of 
France. The voluptuary Elizabeth was then on the 
throne. But there was a younger woman in court 
circles, then making an unenviable name for herself, 
who was known as the Grand Duchess Catherine, a 
niece by marriage of Elizabeth. At a ball she saw 
the handsome young Poniatowski, and was at once 
fascinated by his 4 ‘ fine expressive eyes and pensive 
beauty.” For a while, because of either prudence 

1 This quotation, and some of the other extracts in this chapter, are 
from that interesting work by R. Nisbet Bain, “ The Last King of 
Poland.” 



102 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


or fear, he made no advances, but it was not long 
until he had supplanted all other favourites of this 
woman, who was destined to wield such a power in 
Europe a few years later. Their meetings were al¬ 
most innumerable, and even Peter, Catherine’s hus¬ 
band, learned of the liaison . “ He was loving and 
beloved from 1755 to 1758,” Catherine afterwards 
wrote in some intimate confessions, “ and it would 
have lasted for ever, if he himself had not got bored. 
I don’t think I ever cried so much in my life as I did 
during that last half-year.” Catherine soon found 
consolation in other lovers, but she never lost a 
warm regard for Poniatowski. 

The first political position held by the young 
Poniatowski was that of Stolnik, or High Steward, 
of Lithuania. This was bestowed upon him just 
shortly before his memorable visit to St. Petersburg. 
A little later he was accredited as ambassador to 
that court, but, because of his intrigue with Cather¬ 
ine, for whom he seems to have acted as a spy in 
the court of Elizabeth, he was sent back to Warsaw 
in disgrace. Thus the first political services of 
Poniatowski did not augur well either for his own 
or his country’s future. He had simply made him¬ 
self a part of the war of intrigue which waged 
around the court of the failing Elizabeth. His im¬ 
morality shocked his more circumspect uncles. 

When the throne of Poland became vacant, by the 
death of Augustus III, Catherine had already 




The First Partition 


103 


usurped the crown of Russia. She and Frederick 
the Great were both opposed to continuing the 
House of Saxony, and decided upon a Pole for the 
throne. Poniatowski was their choice, although not 
that of the majority of the Polish nobility. The two 
brothers Czartoryski, the uncles of the young Ponia¬ 
towski, were both popular, and either might have 
been chosen had there been no outside influence, but 
they were then men past middle life. They had 
prepared elaborate plans for the improvement of 
the political conditions of Poland, both by curbing 
the turbulent Diet and strengthening the executive. 
As all their efforts came to naught, these old men, 
who should have been wiser, made a personal ap¬ 
peal to Catherine, and upon their invitation, several 
thousand of Russian troops came to Warsaw, and 
some sixty thousand were massed on the frontiers; 
at the same time forty thousand Prussians were 
mobilized on the western frontier. 

Von Moltke says: “ In order to have sufficient 
funds in hand for the Diet, Catherine stopped all 
payments in the empire, even the pay of the soldiers. 
The Russian revenues, which were to buy the Polish 
deputies, were sent to Warsaw under a large mili¬ 
tary escort.” 

At a banquet given by Prince Augustus Czartory¬ 
ski, in honour of the Diet that had been convened, 
the Prussian minister publicly invested Stanislaus 
Poniatowski with the Order of the Black Eagle, an 



104 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


honour borne by no other Pole. Russia bad already 
decorated him with the Order of St. Andrew. In 
this way the choice of these two sovereigns was 
made public. 

When the Convocation Diet met on the 7th of 
May, 1764, Warsaw wore a strangely splendid 
aspect. “ Beside the bayonet of the Russians and 
the carbines of the Prussians,” says a writer, “ ap¬ 
peared the bow and arrows of the Tartar. The 
crowded halls and banquets, the beauty of the 
women, the splendour of the assemblies, seemed to 
betoken a great national festival. . . . Every one 
was armed, and though as yet all was at peace, 
every one trembled lest an accident, a quarrel, might 
prove the spark which should cause a terrible ex¬ 
plosion.” The adherents of the Czartoryski fam¬ 
ily were distinguished by a cockade of the colours 
of the family, and they had brought with them two 
thousand of their own troops. 

Some turbulent scenes immediately ensued. The 
deputy Mokranowski arose and protested “ in the 
name of twenty-two senators and forty-five depu¬ 
ties ” because “ Russian troops have entered into 
the very midst of the assembly of the republic, and 
the representatives of our country wear the livery 
of a family ” (the Czartoryski). This act legally 
dissolved the Diet, but technicalities did not stand 
in the presence of Russian troops. The old mar¬ 
shal, Malachowski, a man of four score years, re- 



The First Partition 


105 


fused to open the Diet. “ Gentlemen/’ said he, 
“ since liberty no longer exists among ns, I carry 
away this staff, and I will never raise it till the 
republic is delivered from her troubles. A free 
nation entrusted it to my care, a free nation alone 
can take it from me. ’’ Threats could not move him. 
“ Strike, I shall die free, and in the cause of lib¬ 
erty/ y said the aged patriot. 

Without a formal resignation of the marshal a 
successor was elected by eighty out of the three hun¬ 
dred members, most of the others having fled. 
Catherine was publicly thanked. Prince Adam 
Czartoryski was chosen marshal, which was really 
the position of president, and, by the direct sug¬ 
gestion of Repnin, the Russian ambassador, Stan¬ 
islaus Augustus Poniatowski was elected king of 
Poland. The candidacy of the young count was a 
surprise to the country at large. But with (the 
power of Catherine behind him, the Czartoryski 
even were obliged to yield. It is said that Ponia¬ 
towski was desirous of the honour, as he thought he 
could then aspire to the hand of the widowed Rus¬ 
sian empress. Yet this seems never to have entered 
her mind. In August following, some thousands of 
electors, only a fraction of the usual eighty thou¬ 
sand, assembled on the field of election and re¬ 
corded their votes, and there was not one dissen¬ 
tient among them. It was so tranquil that many 
ladies were present, and mingled their acclamations 



106 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


with those of the men. Eight thousand Russian 
soldiers judiciously distributed had something to do 
with this peaceable condition. The coronation took 
place on the 25th of November. For the first time 
this ceremony took place at Warsaw instead of 
Cracow; the vain king refused to sacrifice his curls 
and appear with his head cropped as had always 
been the custom. 

“ I knew right well, what I ought to do/’ Stanis¬ 
laus wrote a friend, “ but the whole situation is 
terrible. Patience, caution, courage; and again 
patience, courage, caution! There you have my 
motto.” 

Stanislaus is also reported to have said: “ I fore¬ 
see that I shall have a difficult reign; I shall find 
only the thorns, while I leave to others the flowers. 
Perhaps, like Charles I of England, I shall suffer 
a long imprisonment.’ 9 A present of one hundred 
thousand ducats from Catherine, as a coronation 
gift, seemed to ease these gloomy presentiments of 
the future. 

The new king, who took the title of Stanislaus II, 
undoubtedly ascended the throne with the best in¬ 
tentions. But no king ever assumed a crown under 
more perplexing circumstances. He had agreed to 
follow the counsel of his uncles, the Czartoryski. 
The first reform proposed was the abolishment of the 
liberum veto, which had been the cause of the anar¬ 
chy that had prevailed. A single deputy could 6 ‘ ex- 




STANISLAUS II 














The First Partition 


107 


plode ” the Diet and annul all previous resolutions, 
even though they had been passed unanimously. 
But this change could not be made without the con¬ 
sent of Russia. The empress refused this on the 
ground that it would not be fair to the Dissidents, 
most of whom were members of the Orthodox 
Church. Catherine’s hold on her own throne was 
not very secure, as she was a foreigner, and the 
method of her usurpation did not meet with entire 
approval, so she thought in this way to popularize 
herself as a defender of Orthodoxy. Stanislaus was 
informed that Russia would not permit the reform 
until all the non-Catholics were placed on a footing 
of equality with the Catholics. This the Diet would 
not agree to. The reform was attempted without 
this provision. The Russian and Prussian ministers 
protested at once. Then Stanislaus himself began 
to waver, and the liberum veto was restored. Soltyk, 
Bishop of Cracow, by his fiery eloquence had stirred 
up anew religious bigotry, by starting the cry that 
the faith was in danger. The beginning of the end 
was already visible, for the opening wedge had been 
introduced. Catherine’s opportunity had come, and 
this astute ruler was shrewd enough not to let it 
pass by. 

From the very beginning Stanislaus was but a 
viceroy of Russia. Sequence shows that Catherine 
knew her man when she described Stanislaus to 
Frederick as ‘ ‘ the individual best suited to our pur- 



108 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


poses.” He was not formed of the clay of which 
heroes are made. What he called prudence and 
common sense, the line of least resistance which of¬ 
fered something to him, was his policy. So long as 
he could save something for himself from the wreck¬ 
age, he was content. The Russian ambassador, the 
brilliant Repnin, openly boasted that it was “ he 
who had put the crown on his head, ’ ’ and he did not 
hesitate to remind the king of that fact. He even 
overruled elections to the Diet, and made new mem¬ 
bers sign a pledge agreeing to follow the dictates of 
himself as representative of Catherine. The Bishop 
of Cracow was summarily arrested. One priest, by 
the name of Podoski, was sent around to stir up dis¬ 
satisfaction among the nobles, and this was not a 
difficult undertaking. Repnin practically had the 
control of all offices at the disposal of the king. But 
he stood far above the debased nobles around him, 
who freely accepted his bribes, for he himself was 
absolutely true to his sovereign, even when called 
upon to do things of which he did not approve. 

Had Stanislaus been firm to his promise to follow 
the lead of his uncles, had he followed their pro¬ 
posed reforms with his whole heart, there is no tell¬ 
ing what the result might have been for Poland. 
Surely Catherine would not have dared to arrest 
and carry off the sovereign himself, as her repre¬ 
sentatives did the Bishop, and on more than one 
occasion did the deputies. Had she done so, a wave 





The First Partition 


109 


of righteous indignation might have gone up from 
the other nations, which would have prevented the 
partitioning of Polish territory that followed. 

Eight nobles opposed to the condition of affairs 
met at the little town of Bar, in Podolia, and formed 
a confederation, which took its name from that 
town, in 1768. They organized an army and issued 
a manifesto protesting against the Russian yoke. 
Catherine declared the confederates rebels and ene¬ 
mies, and sent her troops against them. They were 
defeated, but it was really due to their efforts and 
intrigues that a war resulted between Russia and 
Turkey. The hardships endured by this band of 
patriots were indeed many and grievous. The 
troops were almost naked, badly fed, and poorly 
armed. 

The king himself had many trying experiences. 
One of the strangest was the attempt to kidnap him. 
A conspiracy had been formed of about forty of the 
leading nobles, and an attempt was made to carry 
out this bold move on the 3rd of November, 1771. 
The conspirators took an oath to deliver the king 
alive to Casimir Pulaski, or Pulawski, and, if this 
could not be done, to put him to death. The latter 
was undoubtedly only a last resort. “ Twenty 
times/’ said Strawinski, who was afterwards exe¬ 
cuted, “ I could have killed him in Warsaw, and I 
abstained from it. ” They entered Warsaw dis¬ 
guised as peasants, and stationed themselves along 



110 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


the Street of the Capuchins, where the king was 
expected to pass on his return to the palace after a 
visit with his uncle. As he was returning, between 
nine and ten o’clock, the conspirators attacked the 
guards and seized the king. One cut him across the 
face with a sabre. They put him on horseback, and 
dragged him along at full gallop. It was a very 
dark night, and the three bands of conspirators be¬ 
came separated. In jumping a ditch the king’s 
horse broke a leg, and all then went on foot. Some 
had gone ahead to notify the others of their success. 
Although those having charge of Stanislaus wan¬ 
dered about for hours, they had not got far away 
from Warsaw. In the meantime the palace guards 
were on the trail. At one place they found a bloody 
coat, at another a shoe, from which they concluded 
that the king was dead. One by one the conspirators 
had fled or got separated from the king, except 
Kosinski. 

The king used his eloquence on Kosinski as they 
halted for a rest, for both were weary, and begged 
the conspirator to let him escape. 

u But,” said Kosinski, “ I have sworn to my 
chief, General Pulaski, to bring you to Czechsto- 
chowa, and I can not break my oath.” 

“ Did you not,” retorted the king, 44 seven years 
ago, also swear an oath of allegiance to me! ” 

“ By Heaven! your majesty, I had clean for¬ 
gotten all about it,” replied his simple subject. “ If 




The First Partition 


111 


I should consent and re-conduct you to Warsaw, I 
shall be taken and executed.’’ 

‘ ‘ I give you my word, ’ ’ said the king, ‘ 4 that you 
shall suffer no harm; but if you doubt my promise, 
escape while there is yet time. I can find my way 
to some place of safety, and I will certainly direct 
your pursuers to take the contrary road to that 
which you have chosen.” 

Kosinski was immediately at the feet of his 
sovereign, begging his pardon, and swore to protect 
him against his enemies. They took refuge in the 
old mill of Mariemont, near by. The miller was loth 
to admit the men, fearing that they were robbers. 
He did not know that one of the men seeking admit¬ 
tance was the king. A messenger was immediately 
dispatched to Warsaw, and a small troop was sent 
after the monarch. When the guard arrived the 
king was sleeping, and Kosinski was on guard with 
drawn sword. At five o’clock on the following 
morning Stanislaus arrived at the palace, bedrag¬ 
gled, dishevelled and a little bloody, but otherwise 
none the worse for his experience. Great was the 
rejoicing of the people when they found him unhurt, 
but many wept to see him in such a plight and only 
half clothed. 1 

1 Casimir Pulaski, the real head of the conspiracy, son of the man 
who headed the Confederation of Bar, afterwards fled to America. 
He joined the Revolutionary Army, and greatly distinguished himself 
at the siege of Savannah in 1779, and died in that engagement. In 
1904 Congress appropriated the sum of $50,000 to erect an equestrian 
statue of this hero in the city of Washington. 



CHAPTER VIII 


THE SECOND PARTITION 

Abandon of capital — Polish women — Russian influence — Insults 
to Stanislaus — Period of progress — The rebellious triumvirate 
— Four Years' Diet — Blindness to real conditions — New con¬ 
stitution — Prussian influence — Felix Potocki — Russia declares 
war — Joseph Poniatowski — The Dumb Diet. 

Poland emerged from the first partition in 1772 
humiliated in her own eyes, and at the mercy of 
Russia. And yet we are told that never was War¬ 
saw gayer or more vivacious than just at this time. 
At the very moment that the territories of the ‘ 4 re¬ 
public ” were being torn to pieces, the capital had 
abandoned itself to gaiety. Every pretext was 
seized upon to promote new festivities. 44 On with 
dance! Let joy be unconfined! ” seemed to be the 
slogan, and Russian officers were most popular. 
Stanislaus himself was occupied with his mistresses. 
A marriage which he attempted to make with an 
Austrian princess was thwarted by Catherine, and 
he remained unmarried, except for a morganatic al¬ 
liance with the Pani Grabowska, one of the best of 
his many favourites. His conduct shocked his 
uncles, and the purse-strings were tightened. The 
treasurer did not pay him regularly. Hence he was 
always in debt, and Catherine’s purse was plethoric. 

112 


The Second Partition 


113 


Women who were wives or mistresses, and some who 
were both, had great influence. As the men grew 
decadent, the women seemed more virile. The few 
women who came into prominence in the earlier his¬ 
tory of Poland were noble women, hut in the time 
of Stanislaus they were different. Divorce was 
almost as rampant among the court ladies as it is 
to-day. The church dignitaries, many of them, were 
simply worldly prelates. They were as gay and 
maintained elaborate courts on as great a scale as 
those without the cloisters. The Bishop of Cracow 
had his own troupe of actors, and had equipped a 
small but sumptuous theatre of his own. The best 
prelate of all was the king’s own brother, Michael 
Poniatowski, who had become Primate. Upon the 
dissolution of the Jesuit order, which had more than 
one hundred houses in Poland, the other prelates 
fell upon this wealth “ like wolves upon their prey,” 
so we are told. 

A more sensitive man than Stanislaus would 
either have died from humiliation or abdicated. His 
position was secure, but he had to pocket many in¬ 
sults. The new Russian ambassador, Stachelberg, 
took advantage of many an opportunity to humiliate 
him. But the insolence of his own subjects was even 
worse. On one occasion a noble said to his face: 
“ It is all very well for your majesty to keep a stiff 
upper lip, for you are safe upon the throne. Your 
majesty runs no risk of injury to honour, wealth 



114 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


or children, because you have none of these things 
already.” But his finances were improved, as cer¬ 
tain crown lands were set off for his exclusive use, 
and their revenue enabled him to maintain a court. 
But no amount of money sufficed for the improv¬ 
ident Polish monarch. He was not only extravagant 
in his personal habits, but extremely generous, and 
he especially favoured poor literary men who 
crowded around him. Then every Diet cost him 
money, for he was obliged to buy some members in 
order to get what he wanted. His one redeeming 
trait was a charming personality, and he especially 
shone in the boudoir. 

Nevertheless there followed a decade and a half 
of real attempts at improvement after the first 
partition. The majority of the nobles began to see 
the necessity of radical reform, and they struggled 
manfully against mighty obstacles. But Frederick 
II imposed almost prohibitive tolls on the Vistula 
and Wartha, and the loss of the great salt mines of 
Wieliczka caused a serious loss in revenue. Agri¬ 
culture was at a low ebb. The loss of revenue placed 
the royal treasury in a serious condition. 

Stanislaus honestly endeavoured to meet this con¬ 
dition of affairs. The Czartoryski led in the work 
of reform, and the brothers were aided by Ignatius 
Potocki. Heretofore Poland had been almost ex¬ 
clusively an agricultural country. The nobles were 
in possession of such vast tracts of land that they 



The Second Partition 


115 


made no effort to cultivate it carefully, and no tax 
had to be paid on land. But the partition shrunk 
their holdings, exports decreased, and new condi¬ 
tions arose. An act was passed to the effect that 
nobles who engaged in trade did not forfeit their 
nobility, as had heretofore been the case. They were 
also made subject to taxation. Manufactures were 
started in a number of places. Among these were 
a cannon factory, and a number of iron works. A 
mint was established. The better development of 
communications was begun, and several important 
canals constructed. All of the efforts of individuals 
to develop trade and industry were warmly encour¬ 
aged by the king. 

Education was encouraged. In fact a real era 
of literature and intellectual development began. 
Every Pole began the study of the history of his own 
country. The School of Cadets was established in 
Warsaw, which afterwards turned out those bril¬ 
liant officers who aided Napoleon so much, and it 
was here that Kosciuszko first learned the art of 
war. A school of medicine was founded in the same 
city. The suppression of the Jesuit orders had 
given an ample educational fund. Some of the no¬ 
bles freed their serfs. The towns were admitted to 
the elective franchise. A few corrupt officials were 
actually punished for their crimes, a thing almost 
forgotten in Polish annals. A Permanent Com¬ 
mittee of eighteen senators and eighteen deputies, 



116 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


elected biennially by ballot, bad been imposed upon 
Poland after the first partition to work with the 
king in the effort to rehabilitate the downtrodden 
country. It was undoubtedly an improvement over 
anything the Poles themselves had ever devised. 
The committee was divided into different depart¬ 
ments, and the king was to preside over the Council, 
summon the Diet with its consent, and select all 
senators, ministers and bishops from lists submitted 
to him. In 1782 the treasury actually showed a 
credit balance, almost the first time in Polish his¬ 
tory. And all this was done with the heavy burden 
of an army of occupation upon the country. 

As usual, however, there was an opposition party, 
and, under the Polish custom, an energetic few could 
almost undo the work of a majority. The chiefs 
were the triumvirate of Felix Potocki, Francis 
Branicki, and Severin Rzewuski. The latter owed 
all he had to Stanislaus. Potocki had inherited a 
domain of three million acres in the Ukraine, and 
his magnificent establishment at Tulczin was called 
his “ capital.’’ But these three were a continual 
thorn in the side of the king. They may not con¬ 
sciously have been traitors, since the excessive idea 
of the importance of a noble had been bred in them 
for many generations. Potocki has been described 
as the liberum veto personified. These three men 
began to plot against Stanislaus soon after the first 
partition, claiming that he was aiming at absolu- 




The Second Partition 


117 


tism. They continually intrigued with the court at 
St. Petersburg, and waged war against him in the 
Permanent Committee. For a number of years, 
Stanislaus was able to circumvent all their wiles and 
treachery. At this period in Poland’s history Stan¬ 
islaus really deserves pity. Anything he did.or pro¬ 
posed aroused opposition, simply from the fact that 
he was king. He had considerable tact and infinite 
patience, but his weaknesses were improvidence and 
irregular living. When in debt he had to borrow 
of the Russian representatives, and then he was 
helpless in their hands. He strongly desired that 
the throne should be made hereditary, and that the 
king under certain circumstances should have a veto 
upon legislation. 

One Diet sat for several years, — from 1788 to 
1792, — and is known in history as the Four Years’ 
Diet. It is sometimes called the Great Diet. It was 
indeed great in oratory, but almost equally great 
in its imbecility. This Diet was technically con¬ 
verted into a confederation, which enabled a major¬ 
ity of votes to control instead of a unanimity. If 
enthusiasm alone could have saved Poland, the 
country would have been preserved. But there was 
no self-discipline. The idea of individual liberty, 
a liberty which shut its ears and eyes to all external 
authority, still prevailed. Family factions early 
arose. The Diet was at length decreed perpetual. 
As an insult to Russia, the Permanent Committee 




118 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


was abolished. This practically left the sovereign 
power in its own hands. The king was reduced* to 
a mere automaton, and yet he had to sit through the 
interminable debates; only now and then did he 
venture to express a warning word. It practically 
had no standing rules for a long time, so that the 
utmost confusion prevailed. Each deputy orated 
and perorated to his heart’s content. 

Class prejudice, public parsimony, intolerance of 
discipline, excessive individuality, — all these ele¬ 
ments contributed to the turbulence of the Diet, and 
these were the real national evils. Ladies attended 
the sessions and applauded the speakers, especially 
any harangue against Russia, for it was at this time 
that the Prussian party was in the ascendancy. It 
was Napoleon who afterwards said that in Poland 
the men signified nothing, and the women every¬ 
thing. An army of one hundred thousand was de¬ 
creed, which would have been about one-tenth of the 
men available for military service, but the nobles 
were unwilling to make the sacrifice of money in¬ 
volved. To avoid a tax and save their pride, “ a 
voluntary and perpetual sacrifice ” was agreed to 
by the nobles. But few made good their promises, 
and the needed army was not provided for. The 
king himself even threw in his diamond-studded 
decorations. All of these things affected credit 
abroad, and foreign bankers began to refuse credit. 

Wise counsel said, “ Keep quiet and await the 



The Second Partition 


119 


death of Catherine,” which could not be long, but 
no! insult after insult was heaped upon Russia. 
Every one favourable for an alliance with Russia 
was a “ parasite; ” all others were “ patriots / 1 
The members did not stop to consider whether they 
were strong enough to thus openly attack Russia. 
When Russia courteously asked permission to 
march troops through Polish territory in her cam¬ 
paign against the Turks, it was granted with the 
condition that they should go in companies of not 
more than five hundred marching at long intervals. 
This really angered Catherine. The death of 
Frederick the Great in 1786 seemed to augur well, 
as Russia and Prussia were alienated by that 
event. 

Poland actually seemed to have started on a new 
lease of life at the beginning of the last decade of 
the eighteenth century. A new constitution had 
been prepared, passed by the Diet, and signed by 
Stanislaus. This was only accomplished by clever 
manipulations on the part of the leaders. The 5th 
of May, 1791, was set for the day of action; but 
the news spread abroad, and it was forced through 
two days earlier. One impetuous Pole, Pan Suchor- 
zewski, cast from him a decoration given him by the 
king, and threw himself before the throne. “ Put 
me in chains if you like,” he said, “ but speak I 
will! ” He was almost trampled to death by the 
other deputies as they crowded around the throne 



120 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


in their enthusiasm. Such theatrical actions were 
not uncommon in the history of the Polish assem¬ 
blies. 

Stanislaus took the oath to the new constitution 
from the Bishop of Cracow, and he said with emo¬ 
tion: “ I have sworn, and I will never swerve from 
it. I call on those who love their country to follow 
me to the church and take the same oath.” Cries 
of “ Long live the King! Long live the Constitu¬ 
tion ! *’ greeted this act. A small minority — only 
eighteen — refused to sign it, and prepared a re¬ 
monstrance. The majority felt that the time had 
come for actual reform. This constitution was es¬ 
tablished May 3rd, 1791. It provided for a limited 
monarchy of a modern type, with the Elector of 
Saxony, son of Augustus III, as hereditary mon¬ 
arch. The burghers were to be given representation 
on the same basis as the nobles. Vague promises 
were made to the peasants. It was declared that 
any one upon setting foot in Poland became imme¬ 
diately free. A regular system of courts was pro¬ 
vided for. On that day thousands of spectators 
thronged the royal castle of Warsaw to witness this 
splendid spectacle of a nation throwing off its 
shackles. When pressure was brought from the out¬ 
side, the vacillating Stanislaus annulled the new 
constitution. National anarchy followed, and the 
Poles were soon fighting among themselves as well 
as defending themselves against alien foes. 




The Second Partition 


121 


At this period, as there had been for some time 
previously, there were two parties — one insisting 
on an alliance for protection with Prussia, and an¬ 
other with Russia. For seventy years there had 
been no regular war, and the ancient warlike spirit 
had grown dim. A real war at this time might have 
checked national decadence. Their contentious 
spirit was all devoted to high-sounding oratory. 
Poland had become a nation of pettifoggers. In 
one session of sixteen continuous hours, during 
which the king never left the throne, eighty ora¬ 
tions were delivered. The most trivial incident 
would bring out elaborate oratory. 

Stanislaus and his court made a visit to Catherine 
in 1787, during her memorable journey to the Black 
Sea, and had come back highly elated with his suc¬ 
cess. Although nothing was promised by that astute 
woman, he felt greatly encouraged over the attitude 
of the empress. He himself favoured an alliance 
with Russia, and perhaps he was wise in that. Had 
Poland been able to make herself strong enough 
that her aid might be valuable, then she could have 
been an ally to be sought by the court of St. Peters¬ 
burg. The Poles had more in common with Rus¬ 
sians than Germans. But Poland was too weak to 
claim equal conditions, and the pride of the Polish 
nobles would not listen to anything else. It must 
be remembered that Poland was really a loose con¬ 
federation of nobles, whose only recognized obliga- 



122 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 

tion to the state had heretofore been military serv¬ 
ice. 

A time finally came when the Prussian party pre¬ 
vailed, and this was the beginning of the end. 
Prussia actually promised an offensive and defen¬ 
sive alliance in 1790. Credulity seems to have been 
one of the weaknesses of Poland. They now relied 
upon the promises of Frederick William. No sooner 
had the alliance been concluded, in March, 1790, than 
the Prussian king began to hint that he desired 
Thorn and Dantzig. He wanted something in re¬ 
turn for his support, a natural want. Had Stanis¬ 
laus and his advisers shown less vacillation the end 
might have been different. Everywhere a stone- 
blind ignorance of the gravity of the situation 
seemed to prevail. Not a single step was taken 
toward mobilizing an army and placing the country 
in a state of defence. 

At the time of the excessive enthusiasm in War¬ 
saw over the new constitution, Catherine was still 
occupied with the Turkish War. No indication of 
dissatisfaction came from St. Petersburg, for Cath¬ 
erine was watching her prey, patiently and silently, 
until it was absolutely within her reach. The op¬ 
portunity came quickly. Felix Potocki, dissatisfied 
with the Prussian party, had gone to Italy. A com¬ 
mand came from the Polish government that he 
return within three months and take the oath of 
allegiance to the new constitution, or be declared 




CATHERINE THE GREAT 





The Second Partition 


123 


an outlaw. Casting all Ms scruples to the wind, he 
decided to appeal to Catherine. This was the pre¬ 
text that she awaited. Potocki gathered together a 
few confederates who met at the little town of Tar- 
gowice, and formed a confederation. This confed¬ 
eration issued a proclamation demanding the dis¬ 
solution of the Diet, the abolishing of the new con¬ 
stitution, and the complete restoration of the old. 
It is said that there were only ten nobles besides the 
three conspirators heretofore mentioned. “ Our 
order,”’says Potocki, “ is the basis of the republic; 
nay, it is the very republic itself.” These confed¬ 
erates, accompanied by a Russian army, started for 
Warsaw. Proclamations were issued at almost 
every step to the inhabitants of the towns and vil¬ 
lages. Through the Ukraine their march was in the 
nature of a triumphal procession. 

It was just at this time that preparations were 
being made in Warsaw for the celebration of the 
first anniversary of the new constitution. News of 
the conspiracy created a great commotion. Word 
came from King Frederick William that he could 
not be counted on for support. A formal declara¬ 
tion of war by Russia was brought by a messenger. 
The Diet, at last brought to its senses, declared the 
king dictator. He appointed his nephew, Prince 
Joseph Poniatowski, commander in chief of an army 
which scarcely existed. He was practically ordered 
to create something out of nothing. With the few 



124 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


troops that lie could gather he advanced against the 
enemy. He had few officers of any great ability to 
aid him; but there was one notable exception, and 
that was Kosciuszko. These two men, so dissimilar 
in tastes and so unequal in birth, proved to be good 
working comrades. At this time Kosciuszko was 
in the inferior capacity, but later the prince served 
under him. Jealousy of each other seems never to 
have entered into these two patriotic spirits. 

The Polish army assumed only the defensive. 
The first engagement took place at Zielence, in 
which the Russians were forced to retreat with a 
loss of some thousands of men. Had Poniatowski 
followed up his victory, some Polish writers think 
that the result might have been different. But he, 
knowing his lack of resources, and fearful of the 
moral results of a possible defeat, did not follow up 
his advantage. The glad tidings of Zielence caused 
great rejoicing at Warsaw. But the treachery of 
a general in command of the northern army, and 
the news that the Russians had occupied Vilna, 
dampened their enthusiasm. Information of Joseph 
Poniatowski’s retreat followed soon after, a move 
which he was compelled to take because of a lack of 
powder and provisions for his troops. He retreated 
to the banks of the Bug River. Here occurred the 
battle of Dubienka, where, after an engagement of 
several hours, the Poles were compelled to retire, 
which they did, however, in regular order, to Krasny 





PRINCE JOSEPH PONIATOWSKI 























































































































The Second Partition 


125 


Starow. Here, while Poniatowski was preparing 
for a decisive battle, the news reached him that 
Stanislaus had acceded to the demands of the con¬ 
federation and abrogated the new constitution. 

It is probably true that the dictatorship had been 
placed in the king’s hands too late; nevertheless, 
at the critical moment, the people had placed their 
destinies in his hands, and he failed them by an 
ignominious surrender. As the head of the army, 
the king at first displayed considerable activity. It 
is even said that he at one time seriously considered 
sacrificing his gray locks, of which he was so proud, 
in order to look more like a soldier. He used to re¬ 
view the soldiers in front of the palace and make 
beautiful speeches to them, haranguing them on 
their duty to their country. He would then admin¬ 
ister patriotic oaths, which they took with tears of 
enthusiasm. This was in May; by the middle of 
June his courage had ebbed considerably. On June 
22nd, he made a direct appeal to Catherine for an 
armistice. He declared, so we are told, with tears 
in his eyes, that he would abdicate rather than sur¬ 
render the new constitution. A little later we find 
him asking the Eussian ambassador: “ What then 
do you advise me to do? ” “ I advise you,” replied 
the ambassador, “ to trust implicitly in the magna¬ 
nimity of Her Imperial Majesty.” This Stanislaus 
did. When the matter was presented for a vote to 
the Council of State it was defeated. The king, 



126 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


however, as dictator, which gave him authority to 
override the decisions of this Council, acceded to the 
demands of the Russian empress. 

Unknown to Poland the second partition had been 
arranged between Catherine and Frederick William 
of Prussia on the 23rd of January, 1793. Stanislaus 
claimed Catherine had agreed to respect Poland’s 
integrity. All the negotiations between the two 
parties, who took part in the second partition, were 
clothed in the closest secrecy. As early as 1791 
negotiations had been carried on between these two 
countries and Austria. The Russian ambassador 
gave magnificent entertainments for the king and 
Polish nobles. Felix Potocki entered Warsaw in 
triumph and swelled with pride, for he hated Stan¬ 
islaus. He saw his mistake too late, and then issued 
an appeal for an uprising against a new partition. 
His feeling of victory and elation lasted less than 
three months. Prince Poniatowski fled to Vienna, 
and refused to submit even when his estates were 
confiscated. 

Catherine decided that the new partition should 
be consented to by the Poles themselves. Stanislaus 
was practically ordered by Catherine to come to 
Grodno to summon a Diet, the place fixed by her for 
the setting of the second act of the tragedy; but he 
was kept in ignorance of the real reason. Stanis¬ 
laus refused to go, alleging ill health, old age, bad 
roads, poverty, etc., but the Russian ambassador 



The Second Partition 


127 


denied another partition was planned. Not until 
the ambassador assured him that Catherine would 
pay his debts, then amounting to an enormous sum, 
did the unfortunate king agree to go. This bribe he 
could not resist. He arrived there April 23, 1793. 
There, on the second anniversary of the glorious 
constitution of 1791, he affixed his signature to the 
call for an extraordinary Diet. He burst into tears, 
so it is said, as he signed the manifesto. During his 
stay there the old king was dependent upon a nom¬ 
inal sum of three thousand ducats doled out each 
week by Sievers, the Russian ambassador, “ upon 
his good behaviour. ’ ’ Grodno now became the scene 
of great social activity. Adventurers and adven¬ 
turesses flocked there by the hundred. A whirlpool 
of reckless gaiety followed, with balls and banquets 
galore. Nine-tenths of the Polish deputies were 
housed and paid a regular allowance by the Russian 
ambassador. It was his policy to make everything 
pleasant, and sugar-coat the bitter pill as much as 
possible. 

To ensure a majority in this Diet, the Commission 
issued a temporary law that none of those who had 
concurred in the establishment of the new constitu¬ 
tion should be eligible, and even those who had pro¬ 
tested against any of the decisions of the commis¬ 
sioners were placed under the ban. This fatal Diet 
was opened on the 17th of June, after the usual mass 
and sermon. The king in an address from the 




128 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


throne, which had been erected for him, expressed 
his fears for the fate of his country, and recom¬ 
mended negotiations as the only hope. Even the 
Diet which had been so artfully picked was not at 
first very tractable. A spirit worthy of better days 
was displayed. Many indeed were the fiery speeches 
made. “ They threaten us with Siberia,’’ said one 
of the deputies; i ‘ those deserts will not be without 
charms for us; everything there will recall the 
cause of our country to our minds.” 

The king was somewhat alarmed at the outbursts 
of patriotism, and exhorted the Diet to comply with 
the demands made. The deputies agreed to treat 
with Russia, but they refused to consider Prussia 
in the deal, because of the bitter resentment at what 
they considered her ignoble desertion. Against that 
country they stood as a solid phalanx. Catherine 
had gone too far to go back on her ally. The Rus¬ 
sian minister sent a number of urgent orders to 
the Diet for an immediate ratification of the treaty^ 
but twenty days passed without his being able to 
extract the word of assent from the defenceless as¬ 
sembly. Seduction, intimidation, and violence were 
alike employed, but even the support of bribed depu¬ 
ties proved unavailing. Sievers finally announced 
that he would order two battalions of grenadiers 
with four pieces of artillery to surround the castle. 
The gunners stood beside their guns with lights in 
their hands. The deputies had to enter the hall be- 



The Second Partition 


129 


tween a file of soldiers with weapons crossed. They 
were informed that they could talk, but would not 
be allowed to leave their seats until the resolution 
had been agreed to. 

The crisis came on the night of September 22nd, 
when four members, who had distinguished them¬ 
selves by their patriotism, were dragged from their 
homes by Russian soldiers, and removed from 
Grodno. When the Diet met the following morn¬ 
ing, protest was made at this action. The house 
decided that no business would be transacted until 
the members were released. The ambassador in¬ 
formed them that if his demands were not complied 
with the soldiers knew what to do. The Diet refused 
even to have the protocol read. The ambassador 
said they could not leave the castle, and that bun¬ 
dles of straw would be brought in for them to sleep 
upon. This announcement was received with si¬ 
lence. Hour after hour the silence continued. The 
king sat upon his throne, and the deputies, gloomy 
and silent, sat or reclined upon the benches. At 
three o’clock on the morning of the 24th, the Rus¬ 
sian general started for the door as if to introduce 
his grenadiers. At length a timid deputy proposed 
that silence should be considered as a consent to the 
motion, and accordingly the question whether the 
treaty should be signed without reservation or not 
was put by the marshal. This was repeated three 
times without an answer. “ I take it then,” said 



130 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 

the marshal, “ that it is agreed to unanimously, for 
silence gives consent. ” He then declared that it 
had received the sanction of the Diet. The deputies 
left the hall in profound grief and with streaming 
eyes. 

The treaty consenting to a further loss of terri¬ 
tory was signed on the 5th of October. Stanislaus 
then dissolved the Dumb Diet. The second parti¬ 
tion was made between Russia and Prussia, the 
latter receiving a little more than one-quarter as 
much as the former. The rest of Poland, a miser¬ 
able remnant, was given to Stanislaus to be gov¬ 
erned by the old laws. 



CHAPTER IX 


KOSCIUSZKO: AN INTERNATIONAL HERO 

Youth of Kosciuszko — Disappointment in love — Enlists under 
Washington — Returns to Poland — Declared dictator — His 
oath — Raclawice — Defeated by Suvarov — Third Partition — 
Death of Stanislaus — Kosciuszko revisits America — His will 
— Correspondence with Alexander I — Death. 

Following the second partition of Poland there 
ensues a short period of national history which cen¬ 
tres around the personality of one man — Andrew 
Thaddeus Bonaventura Kosciuszko (pronounced 
Ko-schus-ko). This man, who is honoured wherever 
liberty is cherished, was born in the chateau of 
Sienniewicza, in Lithuania, on the 12th of February, 
174(3. His father was one of the szlachta, or landed 
gentry, but not of a prominent family. 

The youthful Tadeusz, as it is written in Polish, 
was taken under the wing of the Czartoryski fam¬ 
ily, and given a good military training. He was first 
sent to the military academy in Warsaw, and from 
1769 to 1774 he completed his military education 
in Germany, Italy and France — and especially in 
the military school of Versailles, near Paris. Here 
this Polish youth, at the impressionable age of early 
manhood, imbibed the liberal republican ideas so 
131 


132 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


prevalent in the France of that day, and which later 
developed into the French Revolution. He is said 
to have been a hard and apt student in school, and 
made a most favourable impression upon his in¬ 
structors. 

When Kosciuszko returned to his own country in 
1774, he found his fatherland in despair, and shorn 
of all her elements of greatness. The Diet had been 
compelled to submit to a humiliating surrender of 
a large part of the national domains. The country 
was governed by a weak king; it was tyrannized 
over by a corrupt and effeminate aristocracy, which 
had more pride than good sense. Kosciuszko volun¬ 
teered his services to his country, and was made a 
captain of artillery. Here, as in many other in¬ 
stances, a Polish woman helped to make history. 
Kosciuszko fell in love with the daughter of a noble, 
the Panna Ludwika Sosnowska, a clever and beau¬ 
tiful young woman, if reports are to be believed. 
He did this, loo, while he was tutoring her in some 
studies. This was a terrible thing in old Poland, 
for a penniless soldier to aspire to the hand of a 
daughter of one of the oldest families. Such an 
alliance could not be considered for a moment. The 
father packed the young lady off to parts unknown, 
thus nipping the romance in the bud. She after¬ 
wards married a Polish nobleman, and we have no 
further interest in her history. Kosciuszko re¬ 
mained true to his first love, and never married. 




ANDREW THADDEUS BONAVENTURA KOSCIUSZKO 












Kosciuszko: An International Hero 133 


This incident, bitter as it was to the young lover, 
meant much to the New World. It was disappoint¬ 
ment in love that brought Kosciuszko to the shores 
of America. Distance alone seemed to promise for¬ 
getfulness. He fled to Paris, hoping to enlist in the 
army there, but there seemed no hope of military 
glory in France just then. It was in Paris that he 
met Benjamin Franklin, envoy to France from the 
colonies, and heard of their struggle with England 
for liberty. He sailed for America in 1776, carry¬ 
ing with him a letter of introduction from Franklin 
to Washington. 

As soon as Kosciuszko reached the colonies he 
proceeded to the headquarters of Washington. The 
interview between the two men is reported as 
follows: 

“ What do you seek here? ” Washington asked 
of the young Pole. 

“ I come to fight as a volunteer for American 
independence, ’ ’ Kosciuszko answered. 

“ What can you do? ” said Washington. 

“ Try me,” was the laconic reply. 

Washington did try Kosciuszko, and he found him 
worthy of his confidence. It was on the 18th of 
October, 1776, that he entered the official family of 
the revolutionary commander as colonel of engi¬ 
neers. For eight years his name is a part of our 
national history. His fame ranks along with that 
of Lafayette and DeKalb. Kosciuszko really taught 



134 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


the Colonials the science of fortifications. He 
planned the fortified camp of General Bates at 
Bemis’s Heights in 1777. He was the principal en¬ 
gineer in the construction of West Point, where a 
monument of white marble was erected in his honour 
in 1828. When the Society of the Cincinnati was 
organized, Kosciuszko was made a member. Con¬ 
gress bestowed upon him the rank of brigadier- 
general. 

After the close of the Bevolutionary War Kos¬ 
ciuszko returned to his fatherland. Great as his 
reputation was in this country, communication was 
so poor with the outside world that only fragmen¬ 
tary accounts of it had reached Poland, although 
little by little it began to infiltrate. One reported 
incident is the remark of Stanislaus when he saw 
the inscription “ omnia relinquit servare rempubli- 
cam 99 on the insignia of the Cincinnati order. 
“ Methinks,” said the king, “ this inscription sa¬ 
vours somewhat of fanaticism.” He hinted that 
there might be equally important duties nearer 
home as fighting for an alien people in an unknown 
land. 

For a few years after his return Kosciuszko lived 
in comparative retirement on his estate. In 1789, 
however, he was appointed general of a brigade. 
Experienced officers were very much needed in the 
Polish army at this time, which the government was 
endeavouring to rehabilitate. A little later he re- 



Kosciuszko: An International Hero 135 


signed, being thoroughly dissatisfied with the condi¬ 
tions, and left the country along with many other 
Polish officers. But he came back and served with 
distinction under Prince Joseph Poniatowski, as 
mentioned in the preceding chapter. It was after 
the second partition that the most dramatic event 
in the life of Kosciuszko, and one of the most spec¬ 
tacular in the history of Poland, occurred. 

It is not surprising that the Poles were dissatis¬ 
fied and the loyal patriots almost desperate after the 
second partition. The old wound had not yet 
healed, and it was opened afresh. Russia im¬ 
mediately ordered the reduction of the Polish army, 
which still numbered twenty-five thousand men. 
This order precipitated the explosion. Arrests of 
patriots were made almost daily. A conspiracy at 
once arose in Warsaw, although many of the leaders 
of the patriots had already fled to Dresden and 
Leipzig. Among these was Kosciuszko. One leader 
refused to disband his troops, and set out for Cra¬ 
cow with his force of about seven hundred cavalry. 
At his approach the inhabitants of this ancient cap¬ 
ital rose and expelled the Russian garrison. Five 
thousand scythes were made and distributed among 
the peasants for weapons. In the meantime the 
patriots had sent two emissaries to Kosciuszko at 
Leipzig, where he was living, and offered the com¬ 
mand to him. With the cautiousness characteristic 
of him he sent friends to Warsaw to find out the 



136 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


real state of public feeling. He advanced to the bor¬ 
ders of Galicia, where he awaited their reports. 

On the 23rd of March, 1794, Kosciuszko entered 
Cracow, and on the following day he was pro¬ 
claimed generalissimo. He was given absolute 
power in command of the armies, and in the regu¬ 
lation of all affairs, political and civil. A deed of 
insurrection was drawn up, and Kosciuszko was ap¬ 
pointed dictator. Seldom indeed has such unquali¬ 
fied confidence been placed in a single individual. 
His first act was to summon all the nobles and citi¬ 
zens, to impose a property tax, and make all the 
requisite arrangements which prudence dictated 
with regard to his army. A provisional govern¬ 
ment had already installed itself at Warsaw, com¬ 
posed of the men who favoured the constitution of 
1791. King Stanislaus remained in his palace, re¬ 
spected but watched, and was not allowed to take 
any active part in the government. 

On the old square in Cracow, and at a place which 
is now marked by a commemorative tablet, Kos¬ 
ciuszko took a solemn oath of fealty in the pres¬ 
ence of a large concourse of people. He was dressed 
as he chanced to be, in the simplest of garb, for 
simplicity of tastes, and especially in the matter of 
dress, was always one of his characteristics. The 
oath was as follows: 

“ Thaddeus Kosciuszko, swear to the Polish 
nation, in presence of the God, that I will never em- 



Kosciuszko: An International Hero 137 


ploy the power which has been entrusted to me 
against any citizen; but I will exert it only to de¬ 
fend the integrity of my country, to recover the 
national independence, and to strengthen the gen¬ 
eral liberty of the nation. So help me, God! ” 

On the 1st of April Kosciuszko left Cracow at the 
head of an army of about four thousand. Most of 
his troops were simply peasants armed with scythes. 
He headed straight for the village of Raclawice, 
where a Russian force three times his own was 
quartered. Kosciuszko forced the battle, and drew 
up his little army in three divisions. The few guns 
he had, and a small force of armed regulars, did 
terrible execution. Then, with a shout, two thousand 
peasants armed with their terrible scythes charged 
the Russians. The shooting and the glitter of the 
scythes seemed to unnerve the Muscovites. The 
battle lasted nearly five hours, but victory fell to 
the Poles and over three thousand Russians were 
killed. Twelve cannon and many small arms were 
taken in this one great success of the revolution. 
This first victory was only a few miles northeast 
from Cracow. 

The success at Raclawice accelerated the develop¬ 
ment of the armed resistance of the patriots, and 
the insurrection in Poland became general. It ex¬ 
tended all the way from Cracow to Vilna. In vain 
did the king issue a proclamation denouncing the 
patriots as enemies. The victory of Raclawice had 



138 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


electrified all Poland. Cries of “ Long live Kos- 
cinszko ” spread all over Poland. Even far-away 
Vilna expelled the Russian commander. The tocsin 
of war was sounded in all the churches. The Polish 
troops and citizens in Warsaw turned against the 
Russians, and for two days a bloody battle waged 
in the streets of that city. Notwithstanding the 
superiority in numbers, the Russians were defeated 
with a loss of twenty-two hundred killed and almost 
as many taken prisoners. General Igelstrom had 
great difficulty in escaping with his life. 

Nothing seemed able to withstand the impetuosity 
of these patriots, who were fighting for home and 
liberty. A council of administration was established 
in Warsaw, and allegiance given to the movement 
headed by Kosciuszko. Word was sent to the king 
that they would obey no orders except those of the 
dictator. Kosciuszko issued a proclamation freeing 
every serf who enlisted for the national defence. 
He wanted to free all the peasants from servitude, 
but did not dare to risk the loss of support by the 
aristocracy. He attempted to win the Dissidents 
by proclaiming liberty of conscience and the equal¬ 
ity of religions in the eye of the law. The vacilla¬ 
ting king wrote a flattering letter to the dictator full 
of promises. But Prussia declared war, and forty 
thousand troops were poured into the country and 
effected a junction with the Russians. They were 
headed by the Prussian king in person, and man- 



Kosciuszko: An International Hero 139 


aged to take Cracow. Austria took a hand, and her 
soldiers marched into Galicia. Kosciuszko returned 
toward Cracow to defend that city, and an engage¬ 
ment followed at Czczekociny with an army greatly 
outnumbering his own, which resulted in a slight 
defeat. But victory generally fell to the Polish 
arms until Catherine sent her great General 
Suvarov to head the Russian troops. 

At Warsaw the patriots themselves, inflamed by 
a fiery harangue, executed eight persons whom they 
considered traitors. The men undoubtedly deserved 
their fate, as they were members of the traitorous 
Confederation of Targowice. Nevertheless, Kos¬ 
ciuszko condemned this bloody justice, and insisted 
on the punishment of the rioters. “ This,” said 
Kosciuszko, “ will be an indelible stain on the his¬ 
tory of nur revolution. The loss of two battles 
would have done us less harm than that unfortunate 
day.” As a result of his investigation he had seven 
of the ringleaders hung. 

The real troubles of the Polish patriots were just 
beginning. The Russians and Prussians were now 
pressing in upon Warsaw, and they finally reached 
the Vola, the field of tragic elections. The Prus¬ 
sian king was obliged to withdraw, however, because 
of insurrections nearer home. Kosciuszko advanced 
to meet Suvarov, and a bloody battle followed at 
Maceiowice. Victory at first wavered between the 
two forces, when Kosciuszko, at the head of his prin- 




140 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


cipal officers, made a heroic charge against the 
enemy. He fell covered with wounds, and all his 
companions were killed. For some time he lay 
senseless, but, as soon as the enemy recognized him 
in his plain uniform, they gave him surgical atten¬ 
tion and treated him with the greatest respect. 
Twenty-one guns and almost three thousand men 
were captured by the Russians. 

This unfortunate event seemed to paralyze the 
Poles. The news of Kosciuszko’s capture spread 
like wildfire. “ Kosciuszko is no more; the coun¬ 
try is lost,” the people exclaimed. Warsaw was 
horror-stricken by the unexpected calamity. Only 
one great battle at Praga, separated only by the 
width of the Vistula from Warsaw, in which Gen¬ 
eral Suvarov was victorious, followed. This place 
had been strongly fortified, but the defenders were 
mostly inexperienced. After its capture a horrible 
butchery followed, in which twelve thousand Poles 
are said to have perished by the sword. Thousands 
of townspeople were murdered in cold blood. The 
soldiers were so exasperated against the Poles that 
they refused to give any quarter. ‘ ‘ The streets are 
covered with corpses; blood flows in torrents, ’’ was 
the first dispatch of Suvarov to his government. 
Warsaw capitulated on the 6th of November, and 
the Russian troops entered the city. Thousands of 
the insurgents were sent to the wilds of Siberia. 

The third partition of Poland was agreed upon 



Kosciuszko: An International Hero 141 


by treaty of the three powers on the 24th of October, 
1795, although all of the details were not completed 
until the following year. By this third and last par¬ 
tition Russia acquired the remaining portion of 
Lithuania, together with some other territory; 
Austria received the greater part of the palatinates 
of Cracow, Sandomir, Chelin and Lublin; Prussia 
obtained Eastern Poland, including Warsaw. Such 
was the result of the glorious but unfortunate revo¬ 
lution of 1794. However inglorious its results may 
seem to us, Kosciuszko had lived up to the lofty oath 
which he took. 

Stanislaus was now left without a kingdom. He 
was obliged to go to Grodno, at which place he 
signed a formal act of abdication on the 23rd of 
November, 1795. An annual pension of two hundred 
thousand ducats was ensured to him by the three 
powers, with the further promises that his many 
debts also should be paid. The abdication was 
equivalent to a confirmation of the third partition, 
which immediately followed. Upon the death of 
Catherine, in 1796, Stanislaus went to St. Peters¬ 
burg at the request of the Emperor Paul, who gave 
him a palace for his use. In that city his unhappy 
life ended on the 12th of February, 1798, by an 
attack of apoplexy. He is buried in the Roman 
Catholic Cathedral on the Nevski Prospect in the 
Russian capital. His funeral was held with all the 
honours due a crowned head, and was attended by 



142 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


Paul himself. “ I have always wished for the hap¬ 
piness of my country,” Stanislaus said, 44 and I 
have caused it only misfortune.” He spoke the 
truth. 

Kosciuszko was taken to St. Petersburg, and was 
kept there as a prisoner of war for two years. His 
imprisonment, however, was not harsh, as he was 
allowed many privileges. The noble conduct and 
honest patriotism of the Polish hero had won for 
him the sincere admiration of his conquerors. His 
wounds, which were numerous, were carefully 
nursed. When Paul came to the throne he paid a 
personal visit to Kosciuszko in his prison and liber¬ 
ated him. He also made him many presents, in¬ 
cluding a generous gift of money. He likewise lib¬ 
erated several thousand Polish prisoners who had 
been sent to Siberia by his mother. Nothing seemed 
to please Paul so much during his short reign as to 
reverse the acts of his mother. 

After recovering his health sufficiently to make 
the journey, Kosciuszko decided to make a second 
visit to the United States. The wife of Paul pre¬ 
sented him with seven thousand dollars as a gift, 
and Paul thirty thousand dollars. Kosciuszko di¬ 
vided the greater part of this money among needy 
compatriots. His journey hither was a continual 
ovation. Even London received him with open 
arms, although he had fought with the colonies 
against England, and many British statesmen paid 



Kosciuszko: An International Hero 143 


him marked attention. At Bristol a procession of 
the gentry accompanied by a regiment of dragoons 
met the modest hero, whose name was on every one’s 
tongue. It was from this city that he embarked on 
his journey to the new republic which he had helped 
to free. It was in 1797 that Kosciuszko was in Eng¬ 
land, and the following is a pen picture of the man 
as he appeared at that time, written by an English 
writer: 

“ I never contemplated a more interesting human 
figure than Kosciuszko stretched upon his couch. 
His wounds were still unhealed, and he was unable 
to sit upright. He appeared to be a small man, 
spare and delicate. A black silk bandage crossed 
his fair and high, but somewhat wrinkled, forehead. 
Beneath it his dark eagle eye sent forth a stream 
of light, that indicated the steady flame of patriot¬ 
ism which still burned within his soul; unquenched 
by disaster and wounds, weakness, poverty, and 
exile. Contrasted with its brightness was the pale¬ 
ness of his countenance, and the wan cast of every 
feature. He spoke very tolerable English, though 
in a low and feeble tone; but his conversation, re¬ 
plete with fine sense, lively remark, and sagacious 
answers, evinced a noble understanding and a cul¬ 
tivated mind. On rising to depart, I offered him my 
hand; he took it. My eyes filled with tears; and 
he gave it a warm grasp. I muttered something 
about i brighter prospects and happier days.’ He 



144 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


faintly smiled, and said (they were his last words 
to me), 4 Ah! sir, he who devotes himself for his 
country must not look for his reward on this side 
of the grave. ’ ” 

A strong friendship existed between Kosciuszko 
and many of the American leaders, and particularly 
so with Jefferson. In a will executed on the 5th of 
May, 1798, he named Jefferson as his executor. I 
quote this instrument, because it reveals the noble 
character of the testator: 

“ I, Tadeusz Kosciuszko, being just in my de¬ 
parture from America, do hereby declare and direct 
that, should I make no other testamentary disposi¬ 
tion of my property in the United States, hereby 
authorize my friend, Thomas Jefferson, to employ 
the whole thereof in purchasing negroes from among 
his own, or those of any other gentleman, and give 
them liberty in my name, in giving them an educa¬ 
tion in trades or otherwise, and in having them in¬ 
structed for their new condition in the duties of 
morality which may make them good neighbours, 
good fathers or mothers, good husbands or wives, 
and in their duties as citizens, teaching them to be 
defenders of their liberty and country, and of the 
good order of society, and in whatsoever may make 
them happy and useful, and I make the said Thomas 
Jefferson my executor of this. T. Kosciuszko, 5th 
day of May, 1798.” 

Kosciuszko remained in the United States eight- 



Kosciuszko: An International Hero 145 


een months, and then returned to France. Congress 
gave him a public vote of thanks and bestowed upon 
him a pension. Many were the attentions shown 
him by persons in every walk of life from President 
to the humblest individual. Kosciuszko, however, 
still had hopes of interesting France to restore 
liberty to his unfortunate country. The govern¬ 
ment would do nothing, but a banquet was given in 
his honour which was attended by five hundred per¬ 
sons. His health was proposed and drunk with the 
usual French exaggeration, and he was enrolled as 
a citizen of the French Republic. Napoleon himself 
called upon the hero, and asked him to enlist under 
his own banner. But Kosciuszko refused all the 
blandishments of the wily Corsican. 

The hopes of Kosciuszko were again aroused upon 
the accession of Alexander I, and he had several 
personal interviews with the czar. But these also 
fell to naught. One letter written in 1814, after the 
allies had entered Paris, I will quote. On the 9th 
of April, Kosciuszko, who had been living near Fon¬ 
tainebleau, sent the following letter to the Emperor 
Alexander, then in that city with his troops: 

u Sike : If from my obscure retreat I dare to 
address my petition to a great monarch, a great 
general, and, above all, a protector of humanity, it 
is because your generosity and magnanimity are 
well known to me. I request three favours of you; 



146 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


the first is, to grant a general amnesty to the Poles 
without any restriction, and that the serfs scattered 
in foreign countries may be regarded as free if they 
return to their homes; the second, that your maj¬ 
esty will proclaim yourself king of Poland, with a 
free constitution approaching to that of England, 
and that you cause schools to be established there 
for the instruction of the serfs; that their servitude 
be abolished at the end of ten years, and that they 
may enjoy the full possession of their property. If 
my prayers are granted, I will go in person 
(though ill) to throw myself at your majesty’s feet 
to thank you, and to be the first to render you hom¬ 
age as my sovereign. If my feeble talents could 
yet be of any utility, I would set out instantly to 
rejoin my fellow-citizens, to serve my country and 
my sovereign with honour and fidelity. 

“ My third request, though personal, sire, is near 
my heart and feelings. I have been living fourteen 
years in the respectable house of M. Zeltner, of the 
Swiss nation, formerly ambassador from his coun¬ 
try to France. I owe him a thousand obligations, 
but we are both poor, and he has a numerous fam¬ 
ily. I beg for him an honourable post, either in the 
new French government, or in Poland. He has 
talents, and I vouch for his fidelity under every 
trial. 

“ I am, etc. 


u KoscniszKo.” 



Kosciuszko: An International Hero 147 


To this Alexander returned an autograph an¬ 
swer, which was dated on the historic 3rd of May, 
so sacred to the Poles: 

“ I feel great satisfaction, General, in answering 
your letter. Your wishes shall he accomplished. 
With the help of the Almighty, I trust to realize the 
regeneration of the brave and respectable nation to 
which you belong. I have made a solemn engage¬ 
ment, and its welfare has always occupied my 
thoughts. Political affairs alone have hindered the 
execution of my plans. How satisfactory it would 
he to me, General, to see you my helpmate in the 
accomplishment of these salutary labours! Your 
name, your character, your talents, will be my best 
support. 

“ Accept, General, the assurance of all my esteem. 

“ Alexander.’’ 

The later years of Kosciuszko were spent on a 
little.farm in Solothurn (Soleure), Switzerland, 
where a few friends of his earlier days, expatriated 
like himself, were generally gathered. A fall from 
his horse, while taking a solitary ride, caused in¬ 
juries which brought about his death on the 26th 
of October, 1817, at the age of seventy-one. His 
remains were brought back to Cracow by Alexander 
I of Eussia, and were there deposited in the Wawel 
by the side of the kings, none of whom had a greater 



148 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


claim to the affections of the Poles. His memory 
remains absolutely untarnished, and he was always 
known as incorruptible. The history of the world 
shows few examples of such great and unselfish 
patriotism and love of liberty as animated the 
brave Kosciuszko. 

On the hill called Bronislaw, the most conspicuous 
landmark visible from Cracow, has been erected a 
memorial to Kosciuszko in the shape of a huge 
mound, sixty-five feet high, which is one of the most 
unique monuments to human greatness that can be 
found anywhere in the world. It is built on a hill 
several hundred feet above the level country. This 
monument was constructed in 1820-1823, and was 
made of earth gathered from the many battlefields 
where this patriot fought. Every bit of the soil 
was carried to this spot by his enthusiastic fellow- 
countrymen, nobles and peasants alike assisting in 
this work of affection. The centre was a bit of 
earth from the battlefield of Raclawice, and about 
it were placed contributions from other scenes of 
conflicts. 




a 

a 




KOSCIUSZKO MOUND, NEAR CRACOW 










CHAPTER X 


AFTER THE DISMEMBERMENT 

The Polish Legions — Dombrowski — Napoleon — Grand Duchy of 
Warsaw — Moscow disaster — Death of Joseph Poniatowski — 
The fourth partition — The Kingdom of Poland — Revolution of 
1830 — Free city of Cracow — Trouble in Galicia — Uprising of 
1863. 

Had Europe been tranquil at tbe time of Poland’s 
dismemberment, the great nations of that continent 
might have come to the rescue of this unfortunate 
country. But France was in turmoil, and the events 
of the French Revolution absorbed the attention of 
every other European ruler. Louis XVI was exe¬ 
cuted by the infuriated populace, and the Reign of 
Terror had begun in the same year that the sec¬ 
ond partition was made. As a consequence other 
monarchs sat trembling upon their thrones, and 
could give to suffering Poland no more than a pass¬ 
ing sigh. 

After the third and final partition of Poland, hun¬ 
dreds of the national patriots emigrated from their 
homes. France was the only country which ap¬ 
pealed to them at that time, as it seemed to be the 
one place where liberty was cherished. In spite of 
the bloodshed and anarchy which prevailed there, 
a real spirit of independence seemed to exist. That 
country seemed to promise more hope of assistance 
149 


150 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


to the Poles in recovering their independence than 
any of the others. Some fled to Venice, and in both 
that city and Paris an embryo confederacy was 
formed. In Galicia a conspiracy was likewise or¬ 
ganized as early as 1796, and the leaders of it, with 
a couple of thousand troops, crossed over into the 
neighbouring borders of Turkey. They hoped to 
interest the sultan in their cause, knowing the long 
and bitter enmity which had existed between the 
Porte and Russia. These events were prior to the 
time that Napoleon arrived at the head of France. 
Because of his prominence, however, the Poles were 
attracted to him and early began negotiations with 
him. 

At this time the condition of the Poles in Russian 
provinces was better than their compatriots in 
either Prussia or Austria, for Prussia had promptly 
begun her attempts at Germanization. Catherine’s 
son, Paul, who succeeded to the throne in 1796, 
seemed to take a delight in upsetting the things that 
his mother had done. This reacted to the benefit of 
Poland. Paul set free the Polish prisoners, num¬ 
bering some twelve thousand, and granted to the 
Polish provinces a considerable degree of autonomy. 
Such kindness and clemency could not do otherwise 
than have a good effect, and was really more for¬ 
midable than the sword. Prussia had likewise dis¬ 
continued some of her persecutions, and Austria 
seemed to be the hardest on her Polish subjects. 



After the Dismemberment 


151 


The beginning of the Polish Legions, which after¬ 
ward became very famous during the wars of Napo¬ 
leon, was in 1797. Under the leadership of John 
Henry Dombrowski, who had enlisted under France 
the previous year, a small band of twelve hundred 
men was organized who took service with France. 
These troops kept their national costumes, with the 
exception of the French cockade. They were formed 
into two battalions, and fought under the Cisalpine 
Republic in a number of campaigns in Italy. Their 
number gradually increased, until in a few months 
they numbered five thousand men when war was 
undertaken with Austria. They served to keep the 
name of Poland alive, and even fought against the 
Pope himself. In this campaign they captured the 
Turkish standard secured by Sobieski, which had 
been presented to the Vatican, and the sword of that 
famous general. The flag ever afterwards accom¬ 
panied the Polish Legions, and the sword was given 
to Kosciuszko as the man most worthy of possess¬ 
ing such a treasure. 

It was on the 11th of November, 1799, after his 
return from the victorious Egyptian campaign, that 
Napoleon was raised to the consulship of France. 
From that time, until the downfall of the Corsican, 
the Polish Legions did valiant service. The Poles 
felt that they were fighting for their own liberty, 
as well as the rest of Europe, for they always 
believed the promises of that wily general. Kos- 



152 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


ciuszko himself is the one exception. Although liv¬ 
ing in France, he refused to take up arms with 
Napoleon against Russia. He perhaps feared a mil¬ 
itary despot as much as a hereditary tyrant. He 
is quoted as saying that it would simply be “ des¬ 
potism for despotism.’’ When, in 1806, the Polish 
troops marched with Napoleon into Berlin, their 
hearts beat high with expectancy. Their numbers 
increased rapidly as they neared the Russian bor¬ 
ders. On the 27th of November of that year Napo¬ 
leon established his headquarters at Posen. His 
entry was a triumph, and the people hailed him as 
the saviour of their country. 

A few weeks later Napoleon entered Warsaw, 
and the Russian troops were driven out. “ The 
popular intoxication,” writes the Countess Potocka, 
“ was at its height ; the whole town was lit up as 
if by magic. That day, forsooth, the authorities had 
no need to allot quarters to the new arrivals; people 
fought for them, carried them off, vied with each 
other in treating them best. Those of the citizens 
who knew no French, not being able to make them¬ 
selves understood, borrowed the dumb language 
which belongs to all countries, and, by signs of de¬ 
light, handshakings, and bursts of glee, made their 
guests comprehend that they freely offered them 
all the house contained, the cellar included. Tables 
were even laid in the streets and squares. Our 
future independence, the brave army, the great 



After the Dismemberment 


153 


Napoleon, were toasted many a time. There was 
embracing and fraternizing and a little too much 
drinking, for the soldiers ended by giving way to 
excesses which momentarily cooled the ardour which 
had prompted their reception. ’’ 

A temporary government was established by 
Napoleon, and the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, con¬ 
sisting of six provinces and a population of about 
two millions, was erected. The little duchy was) 
given a government elaborate enough for France 
itself, so that mere political existence was weighty. 
The expenses were more than twice the total rev¬ 
enue, so that even with abundant harvests, bank¬ 
ruptcy soon faced the little duchy. Armies marched 
through her territories and plundered the inhabit¬ 
ants at will. Distinguished Poles were placed at 
the head of the various departments of the govern¬ 
ment, and Frederick Augustus, King of Saxony, the 
man whom the Poles had chosen for their throne 
to succeed Stanislaus, was selected as grand duke. 
The first Diet was held in March, 1809. Scarcely 
had the Diet finished its labours when Austria de¬ 
clared war against France. The Poles fought val¬ 
iantly for Napoleon’s cause, and the Austrians were 
eventually compelled to seek peace. It was then 
that a number of the Austrian Polish provinces, 
including that of Cracow, were added to the Grand 
Duchy of Warsaw. 

The misery of all classes of Poles at this time was 



154 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


extreme. It was only the hope of ultimate inde¬ 
pendence that kept up their courage. Although 
Alexander had treated his subjects well upon his 
accession after the death of Paul, in 1801, they were 
still anxious for independence. When Napoleon 
made his famous march to Moscow in 1812, almost 
seventy thousand Poles marched with him. They 
suffered their full share of the hardships of the 
terrible retreat from that city, and distinguished 
themselves in the various battles which ensued. 
When Napoleon entered Vilna, he was received with 
the greatest acclaim. Public ceremonies were held 
in which the decision of the Polish Diet, pronoun¬ 
cing the re-establishment of the kingdom of Poland, 
was solemnly accepted by the Lithuanians. This 
ceremony took place in the cathedral of Vilna, in 
which all the nobility had assembled dressed in the 
ancient Polish costumes in honour of the occasion. 
The people expected an announcement from Napo¬ 
leon that Poland would be restored under his pro¬ 
tection. They felt that now the time for revenge 
had arrived for which they had waited and the 
Polish legions had fought for eighteen years. This 
the wily Corsican did not do, although requested 
by a delegation that called upon him, because he did - 
not wish to alienate Austria just then. “ I applaud 
all that you have done,” said he, “ but I have 
guaranteed to the Emperor of Austria the integrity 
of his state.” 



After the Dismemberment 


155 


It is always interesting to speculate, even if spec¬ 
ulation is futile. 4 4 If Napoleon," says Rambaud, 
the Historian of Russia, 44 instead of plunging into 
Russia, had contented himself with organizing and 
defending the ancient principality of Lithuania, no 
power on earth could have prevented the re-estab¬ 
lishment of the Polish-Lithuanian State within its 
former limits. The destinies of France and Europe 
would have been changed .' 9 The Grand Army 
would have been preserved at least, and Russia 
would have been weakened. The final downfall of 
Napoleon was due to the hostility and persistence 
of Alexander more than any other one cause. Alex¬ 
ander had resolved to pursue the common enemy 
44 down to his last man and his last rouble." Po¬ 
land might still have been preserved among the na¬ 
tions of the world. 

When Napoleon deserted his troops after the dis¬ 
aster of Moscow, and fled to Paris, Prince Joseph 
Poniatowski was chosen as commander and chief of 
the Polish forces. Nearly twenty thousand men still 
survived the Russian campaign. Poniatowski was 
compelled to evacuate Warsaw, and went to Cracow. 
After a few weeks he was forced to leave that city 
and entered Austrian territories. Later he again 
joined Napoleon and took part in the famous battle 
of Leipzig, in April, 1813, where he lost his life by 
drowning in leading his troops across the Elster 
River. The bridge had been blown up and Ponia- 



156 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 

towski, to avoid capture, leaped into the swollen 
waters of the river. One of his arms was then in 
a sling as the result of a wound. Only four days 
before this he had been appointed a marshal of the 
empire by Bonaparte. His remains now rest in the 
Wawel. The survivors of the Polish army re¬ 
mained with Napoleon, and retreated to Paris. 
Some of them went to the island of San Domingo 
to light against the insurrection there, and were 
captured by the English. A few Polish officers 
even wanted to accompany Napoleon in his exile 
to St. Helena, so loyal were they to him and his 
cause. 

On the 3rd of May, 1815, the Congress of Vienna 
settled the fate of Poland. The Powers represented 
there seemed agreed upon the iniquity of the pre¬ 
vious partitionings. Gaiety ruled while the negoti¬ 
ations were proceeding. At length news reached 
the Congress of the landing of Napoleon after his 
escape from Elba, and this event hastened the con¬ 
clusion of the negotiations. Alexander got more 
than he had dared to hope for. The treaty agreed 
to by the Powers was really a fourth partitioning, 
for it wrested from Germany a large part of what 
she had previously obtained. The greater part of 
the former domains was formed into a kingdom, of 
which the Czar of Russia was made king. It was 
decided that the kingdom should have a separate 
constitution and administration. Austria was to 



After the Dismemberment 


157 


keep Galicia and the famous salt mines of Wie- 
liczka; Germany was to retain all that she received 
at the first partition; Cracow was erected into a 
republic with a distinct constitution under the pro¬ 
tection of the three powers. 

In November, 1815, Czar Alexander arrived at 
Warsaw, where he was received with great enthu¬ 
siasm, and was crowned as king. “ The emperor 
came,” says the Countess Potocka in her “ Me¬ 
moirs,” “ escorted by a whole staff of Polish gener¬ 
als; himself wore our military uniform, and wore 
no decoration but the cordon of the White Eagle. 
It looked as though, striving to make us forget that 
he was ruling other peoples, he wished to instil 
into us as much confidence as affection. His insinu¬ 
ating manners, the gentle and benevolent expres¬ 
sion of his face, touched every one, and, let us 
frankly confess, the ease with which we Poles allow 
ourselves to be impressed did the remainder, and 
I believe on that day, Alexander, carried away by 
the outburst of the sentiments his presence evoked, 
imagined a free and independent Poland, where 
he would have found a home and faithful sub¬ 
jects.” 

The booming of cannon announced the restora¬ 
tion of Poland. A constitution was drawn up which 
was almost as liberal as the famous constitution of 
1791. Alexander seemed to take a real pleasure in 
thus giving expression to his liberalism. A parlia- 




158 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


ment was erected which was composed of two 
houses, of which the upper house should consist of 
princes, bishops, palatines and castellans; the lower 
house contained double the number of members, to 
be elected by the nobles of the various districts, and 
a few of them by the common people. Poland was 
even to have a national army, and to use a national 
flag. The Diet was to meet every second year in 
Warsaw, to sit for thirty days, and all matters 
were to be decided by a majority vote. Freedom of 
the press and person, and unqualified use of the lan¬ 
guage was assured. Amnesty was granted to all 
who had borne arms against Russia. A proclama¬ 
tion was issued embodying these guarantees, and 
Prince Czartoryski was placed at the head of the 
government. 

“ With the help of God,” said Alexander, “ I 
hope to extend these beneficent principles to all the 
countries that Providence has confided to my care . 9 ’ 
Thus it was not Poland alone, but also Russia that 
received a tacit promise of a future enjoyment of 
constitutional liberties. Poland accepted his assur¬ 
ances in full faith. 

A brother of the czar, Grand Duke Constantine, 
was given charge of the Polish army, and was made 
the official representative of the Russian Empire. 
Constantine was the heir to the Russian throne, but 
had renounced the right of succession in order to 
marry a Polish woman. Thus his sympathies were 




ALEXANDER I 






























- 
















































































After the Dismemberment 


159 


with Poland, but he had not the qualifications for a 
satisfactory ruler. 

Lithuania was not included in the kingdom, but 
was formed into a separate province, governed by 
laws not quite so liberal, and was more under the 
power of the imperial edicts. Under this constitu¬ 
tion the first Diet was opened by Alexander himself 
on the 17th of March, 1818. Alexander's character 
changed, however, in the later years of his life. The 
liberator of Europe, the champion of liberal ideas, 
yielded to mysticism and complete reaction. Even 
before his death in 1825, the administration of the 
laws became less liberal. As early as 1819 a cen¬ 
sorship had been established. The Polish Diet 
fought bravely for its liberties, and strenuously re¬ 
sisted every encroachment by the autocracy. Dur¬ 
ing the last five years of Alexander's reign the Diet 
was not convened, and only once was it called by his 
successor. 

The year 1830 was a portentous one in Europe, 
for it was marked by the famous revolution in 
France. The spirit of unrest likewise reached Po¬ 
land as well as other countries. Nicholas personally 
opened the Diet of May, 1830, but instead of quiet¬ 
ing the discontent the result was exactly the oppo¬ 
site. The Polish demands exceeded his willingness 
to grant concessions. Almost spontaneously an in¬ 
surrection broke out on November 29th. Some stu¬ 
dents in Warsaw attempted to seize the Grand Duke 



160 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 

Constantine at his residence, the Palace of Belve¬ 
dere, and lie barely escaped. The Polish troops 
revolted and killed some of their officers; the di¬ 
rector of police and some other officials were slain. 
Many thousands of muskets were seized in the 
arsenal and distributed among the insurgents. The 
populace were maddened. The army under Con¬ 
stantine had numbered sixty thousand, and this was 
increased to ninety thousand by new levies. 

The patriot Chlopicki was made generalissimo 
of the Polish forces. He despatched envoys to St. 
Petersburg and to the western courts. Chlopicki 
was not radical enough to please the dominant ele¬ 
ment and soon resigned; Prince Radzewill suc¬ 
ceeded him. The Diet was summoned, and formally 
declared that the Romanovs had forfeited the 
throne. Adam Czartoryski was placed at the head 
of the government. Fortifications were thrown up 
to protect Warsaw. But a force of one hundred 
and twenty thousand Russians was sent against 
them under Gen. Diebitch, the hero of the Balkans. 
A two days’ battle was fought at Grochov, in which 
the Poles distinguished themselves, but they were 
not able to check the approach of the Russians. 
Then followed engagements at Bialolenski and in the 
woods near Praga. But even in this time of trial 
political divisions broke out. A riot occurred in 
Warsaw, and for two days the streets ran with blood. 
Massacres were committed even in the prisons. 





CHLOPICKI. 






























After the Dismemberment 


161 


Czartoryski fled, and Gen. Krukoviecki succeeded as 
dictator. He was soon replaced by Niemoievski. A 
number of engagements were fought over the coun¬ 
try. But the Russians crossed the Vistula and ap¬ 
proached the city from the Vola plain. Warsaw 
was compelled to unconditional surrender early in 
September, less than a year from the beginning of 
the ill-advised rebellion. 

“ Warsaw is at your feet,” wrote the Russian 
commander to Nicholas. Not Warsaw alone, but all 
of Poland lay at the feet of the czar. The reprisals 
of the Russian autocrat were severe. The consti¬ 
tution granted by Alexander was annulled; many 
were banished to Siberia; commissions were ap¬ 
pointed to administer the government; the Polish 
army was merged in the imperial army; Russian 
provinces replaced the former palatinates; the 
University of Vilna was suppressed, the Polish 
language forbidden in Lithuania, and the Uniates 
were placed under the ban. Europe refused to take 
up the cause of Poland, although appealed to by 
Czartoryski and others who visited a number of the 
capitals. 

Russian Poland remained fairly tranquil for a 
period of years. In 1846, however, trouble arose in 
Austrian Poland. The nobles had made prepara¬ 
tions to revolt against Austria, and the peasants in 
their turn revolted against the landlords. The 
rumour was systematically spread among the peas- 



162 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


ants that the emperor had granted them the soil for 
partition, but that the nobles were suppressing this 
boon. Their fury knew no bounds. In three days 
two thousand men, women, and children of the 
noble rank were killed. Some were burned to death, 
others flogged until life was extinct, while still 
others were literally cut to pieces. The free city of 
Cracow gave asylum to the refugees, and their 
movements were directed from that remaining frag¬ 
ment of the old republic. Russian, Austrian and 
Prussian troops entered that country, and these 
powers decreed that Cracow should be annexed to 
Austria. 

The Crimean War aroused the hopes of the Poles, 
but even Napoleon III turned a deaf ear to their 
appeals. When peace was concluded with Russia, 
Poland was not considered. The accession of the 
liberal Alexander II also awakened hopes of at 
least the re-establishment of the constitution. 
Prominent Poles were still intriguing with the 
emissaries of Russia. Agrarian agitation helped to 
keep the political ferment active. On the 29th of 
November, 1860, the thirtieth anniversary of the last 
revolution, demonstrations took place on the streets 
of Warsaw. Portraits of Kosciuszko were distrib¬ 
uted, and patriotic religious exercises were held in 
the churches. On the 25th of February, 1861, the 
anniversary of the battle of Grochov, the agricul¬ 
tural society held a meeting to deliberate on a peti- 



After the Dismemberment 


163 


tion to Alexander. Great crowds gathered in the 
street and patriotic songs were sung. On the 27th 
five men were killed in the attempt of the authori¬ 
ties to restore order. All these demonstrations were 
without resort to arms. As a concession Alexander 
decreed a council of state and elective councils. 

On the 7th of April a crowd gathered in front of 
the Zamek, hut it dispersed before the hostile atti¬ 
tude of the troops. On the following day greater 
crowds appeared, shouting that they wanted a coun¬ 
try. A postillion played on his cornet the favourite 
air of Dombrowski’s legions. Charges of cavalry 
had no effect on the inert masses gathered together, 
and then resort was made to more deadly means. 
The soldiers fired several volleys, and two hundred 
men, women and children were killed, besides the 
wounding of many more. On the following day the 
people appeared in mourning, in spite of the in¬ 
structions of the police. Count Lambert was ap¬ 
pointed as viceroy in an effort to conciliate the peo¬ 
ple, but he was recalled. Grand Duke Constantine 
undertook the task, and he was equally unsuccess¬ 
ful. Two attempts were made on his life. The 
Poles insisted that Lithuania and all the former 
Polish provinces should be treated as Poland, al¬ 
though much of this territory was looked upon by 
the ruling power as strictly Russian. Count Za- 
moiski, who was looked upon as the leader, was ex¬ 
iled, and a number of agitators were arrested. On 



164 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


the night of the 15th of January, 1863, the govern¬ 
ment laid violent hands on the recruits. At least 
two thousand were thus seized in Warsaw alone, and 
forced into the army. All possibility of an under¬ 
standing was now at an end. 

The insurrection that now arose could not com¬ 
pare with that of 1831, for there was no Polish army. 
It was really a guerilla warfare. There were no 
battles and only a few skirmishes. Bodies of un¬ 
disciplined men, unfamiliar with military tactics, 
plunged into the thick forests and harassed the 
Russian troops. Few of them had muskets, and 
many had only pikes and scythes. The most seri¬ 
ous conflict took place at Vengrov, on the 6th of 
February. The insurgents were able to kill many 
whom they considered especially hostile. No quar¬ 
ter was given by the Russian troops. When the in¬ 
surgents were captured, they were hung or shot. 
At least one village, that of Ibiany, was destroyed. 
General Mouriavief, the Russian commander, de¬ 
clared it was “ useless to make prisoners / 9 

In May, 1864, the insurrection ended. It had cost 
Poland dear. The last vestige of autonomy disap¬ 
peared, and the Russian language became the official 
medium. The “ kingdom ” was left only as a name. 
The University of Warsaw was Russified. England, 
France and Austria protested through diplomatic 
channels, but their protests were unheeded. Prus¬ 
sia gave Russia active support, and had even en- 



The Capital of Poland's Glory 173 

gilded with pure gold, and it is said to have been 
painted black during foreign invasions in order to 
check the cupidity of irreverent soldiers. Another 
splendid tomb is that of Casimir the Great, who lies 
under a canopy. He is represented as a man of 
sturdy build and with wide forehead. It was he 
who threw into the Vistula an ecclesiastic sent to 
notify him of his excommunication for licentious¬ 
ness. The crowned head here lies upon a cushion, 
with a lion resting at his feet, and in his hands is 
held a sceptre. If the effigies on the tombs are true 
likenesses, as they are claimed to be, the Wawel is 
a good place to study the characteristics of the va¬ 
rious sovereigns. History only deepens the impres¬ 
sions conveyed by these sculptured representa¬ 
tions. 

For a small fee the sacristan conducts the visitor 
down through a trap-door to the crypt, where he can 
wander among the leaden coffins which hold men 
who have fought in almost every European war, 
and some who even crossed the seas in their pursuit 
of the war-dogs. In America, Asia and Africa, 
these men drenched the soil with their blood. 
Among them is John Sobieski, to whose genius was 
due the defeat of the Turks at Vienna, which pre¬ 
vented those Asiatic invaders, and followers of 
Mohammed, from spreading over the rest of Eu¬ 
rope as they at one time threatened to do. His 
tomb of red marble really occupies the place of 




174 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


honour, and is sculptured with figures of kneeling 
Turks. With the exception of the early kings buried 
at Posen, and the last king, Stanislaus Poniatowski, 
who is buried in St. Petersburg, nearly all the kings 
are buried here. 

The laws of Poland ordained that the body of a 
deceased king should be carried to Warsaw, where 
it should remain until the election of a new sover¬ 
eign. This was done to avoid even the appearance 
of an interregnum, for as long as the body of the 
king remained unburied Poland was not without a 
sovereign. After a new king had been elected, it 
was then removed in state to Cracow, and the actual 
burial ceremonies were held just prior to the coro¬ 
nation of the successor. As a part of the ceremony 
each king was obliged to denounce the murder of 
Bishop Stanislaus as “ atrocious,” state that he 
“ detested ” it, and asked pardon for it by implor¬ 
ing the protection of the holy martyr upon himself 
and his kingdom. 

All that there is left of a nation which conquered 
by the sword, and perished by the sword, are a few 
battle-flags which have been torn by shot and shell, 
and such trophies as Turkish swords and German 
standards which still find a place in this abode of 
the dead in the Wawel. But no clank of sabres 
greets one here to-day. One is inclined to become 
retrospective amid such scenes, and the words of a 
Polish poet seem so true: 




THE OLD FLO RIAN GATE, CRACOW. 














































The Capital of Poland’s Glory 175 


“ Oh! ye exiles who so long wander over the earth, 

Where will you find a resting-place for your weary feet? 

The wild dove has its nest, and the worm a clod of earth, 

Each man has a country, 

The Pole has but a grave .’ 1 

The Jagiello Library is a curious building with a 
quaint quadrangle, and bouses many Polish treas¬ 
ures. Especially interesting are the early editions 
of native authors, and it contains the rarest treas¬ 
ures of the Polish press. The names of many fa¬ 
mous visitors are shown in an album preserved here. 
In the University is a statue of Copernicus, who was 
one of its professors. The flourishing time of this 
institution was in the sixteenth century, when a 
number of German professors fled here to escape 
German persecution. The Czartoryski Museum 
contains many interesting souvenirs of Polish life, 
including portraits and medals of her kings and 
famous men. The old Florian Gate, built in 1498, 
is the only one of the old gateways that still re¬ 
mains. It stands at the end of one of the principal 
streets. 

The Plante is a broad and attractive boulevard 
which encircles the city just outside the old fortifi¬ 
cations, occupying the site of the former moat. It 
is a well shaded walk, and bordered with flower-beds 
which are always kept presentable. The newer 
public buildings and many handsome residences 
face the Plante. It is the favourite afternoon prom- 



176 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


enade of the Cracovians. All classes of the city, 
from dignified professors and sedate priests to 
pompons Austrian officers and cringing Jews in 
their long coats, may be seen here taking an airing. 

There is a fine theatre in Cracow, for of all 
amusements the Poles are fondest of drama. It is 
built so that the building has a fine perspective, and 
everything about it shows an artistic taste. It is 
entirely the work of Polish art. Here one can wit¬ 
ness real Polish plays, dramas which set forth the 
tragic events of Poland’s history. Plays which 
would not be permitted in Warsaw are freely given 
here, and Russian Poles come in large numbers to 
witness them. Madam Modjeska acted in this thea¬ 
tre a number of times before her death, for she was 
above all intensely Polish in her sympathies. 

But more interesting than this old historic pile 
is the life of the people to-day. This can be seen 
to the best advantage in the old market-place, or 
Rynek, as the Poles call it. This is a picturesque 
old square in the heart of the city. In the centre is 
the Sukiennice, which is one of the most impressive 
as well as interesting buildings in this city. It was 
built in the fourteenth century as a cloth hall, or 
place of exhibition of merchandise, principally of 
dress-stuffs, which gave it its name. The upper 
floor is to-day used as a gallery for the exhibition 
of paintings, and a museum in which the works of 
old and modern Polish artists will be found; but 






THE SUKIENNICE, CRACOW. 





























The Capital of Poland's Glory 


177 


the lower floor, which is a vaulted corridor, is still 
divided into market stalls and panelled at regular 
intervals with the local or national coats of arms. 
Just outside is a statue of the poet Mickiewicz, who 
is likewise thus honoured in Warsaw and Posen. 
An old Gothic tower on the opposite side is all that 
is left of the old town hall, which was destroyed a 
century ago. It is now the principal guard-house. 

At night half the inhabitants spend an hour or 
two walking along two sides of the Rynek, and on 
the side streets. Men and women, Jews and Gen¬ 
tiles, plump Jewesses and picturesquely clad Polish 
girls, all walk back and forth on the sidewalk for 
their evening outing. Roman Catholic priests in 
their long robes occasionally mingle with their 
parishioners. The Jews lightly swing their little 
walking-sticks as they stroll along, and occasionally 
are jeered or jostled by some of the Polish youth. 
Soldiers in natty uniforms, and with clanking 
swords, are the most conspicuous, and they seem to 
like to attract attention. But that is a common trait 
of the soldier everywhere, and especially so in Eu¬ 
rope. An occasional automobile passing by gives a 
touch of modernity to the scene, and breaks the 
ranks of the strollers at the street intersections. 

There is a picturesqueness about the market in 
Cracow, and the variety of things offered there for 
sale, which is very interesting. Gaily dressed peas¬ 
ant women bring their wares in from the country, 



178 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 

which may consist of vegetables and fruits, or 
chickens and ducks, alive and protesting noisily 
against their shackles. In the summer time they 
will be barefooted, and at other seasons they wear 
the same coarse boots as their husbands and broth¬ 
ers. Women tramp into the city for miles with a 
couple of cans of milk or cream tied across their 
shoulders with a sheet. Women buyers taste it, 
and then bargain for its purchase. Great loaves of 
bread and piles of small cakes are heaped upon 
tables awaiting customers, regardless of the dust 
that may be flying about. 

At the entrance to the town custom collectors are 
stationed who examine every basket and bundle, or 
cart-load, and the owner must pay according to its 
value. Women are compelled to open up their bun¬ 
dles. The men are obliged to unload their carts and 
carry the contents to the scales to have them 
weighed, in order that the proper amount can be 
levied. I saw men come in with their small wagons 
filled with freshly slaughtered meat from across the 
Franz Joseph Bridge over the Vistula, which leads 
to the suburb of Podgorze, where probably fifteen 
thousand people have their homes. The entire load 
had to be carried over to the scales and weighed, and 
then reloaded. Such a thing as weighing the load 
and later the wagon seemed never to have entered 
their heads. 

Such scenes as these just described have occurred 




% 




THE MARKET PLACE, CRACOW. 















The Capital of Poland's Glory 179 


on every Tuesday and Friday from time almost 
immemorial, and it is quite likely that the women of 
to-day differ very little in appearance, or even dress, 
from their ancestors three or four hundred years 
ago. They are not dainty types, these Polish 
women, for they are short and rather heavy in build, 
and sometimes they carry quite heavy loads on their 
backs. They wear bright kerchiefs on the head, 
with shawls over their shoulders, rather short blue, 
red, or yellow skirts, and their feet were encased in 
heavy boots when I saw them. One pretty young 
girl that I saw wore a blue skirt, pink apron and 
green shawl. Her companion was dressed in a 
green skirt, pink shawl and yellow apron. Each 
wore a petticoat of another brilliant hue, and a 
handkerchief of kaleidoscopic colours on her head. 
The skirts are made very full, and the shawls are 
always folded neatly across the shoulders. On other 
days the old square suns itself in dignified re¬ 
pose. 

Almost one-third of the population of Cracow are 
Jews, for one will find this race numerous wherever 
Poland once ruled. They are huddled together in 
the quarter known as the “ Kazimierz,” so named 
in honour of the king of that name who first invited 
them into the country. They live as a race apart, 
although they have dwelt among their Polish neigh¬ 
bours for several centuries. The Kazimierz is one 
of the sights of Cracow. The Cracow Jew can 



180 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


always be recognized. He invariably wears a long, 
black coat, which reaches nearly to the ground, and 
is tightly buttoned even in July. A razor never 
touches his face, and he is proud of his side curls, 
one at each side of his temple, which he winds lov¬ 
ingly about his finger, anointing them frequently 
with copious applications of saliva. He is a living 
type of the ancient Jews as pictured in our illus¬ 
trated Bibles, and seems to have stepped right out 
of the Old Testament. The women usually wear 
a turban made with a handkerchief. Many of the 
younger women would be handsome were they less 
ragged and a little cleaner. Their homes are small 
and unsanitary, but even more squalid and wretched 
are the Jewish villages, where the geese, pigs and 
babies alike play in the mud-puddles of the street. 

The Cracow rabbis have been widely famed for 
their piety and Talmudistic learning. There are 
many synagogues in Cracow. Both Poles and Jews 
mourn a lost country, and each prays to God for the 
restoration of the land of his fathers. Many of 
these Israelites are really walking department 
stores. They will sell you a paper of pins, or a fur 
cap, and would undoubtedly undertake to smuggle 
you across the Russian border on a false passport. 
They will do anything you want done for a com¬ 
mission, and, if they cannot do the task themselves, 
will make some one else do it. They want to drive 
you over the city or to the Kosciuszko monument, 



After the Dismemberment 


165 


tered into a convention for that purpose. One sop 
was given to the peasants, who were granted the 
land occupied by them from the estates of the no¬ 
bles. This last revolution was foolish, ill-timed, 
absurd, but it was the spontaneous protest of a 
proud and sensitive people, who felt that they had 
been trampled upon by a superior power. 

" . . . The heart of Poland hath not ceased 
To quiver, though her sacred blood doth drown 
The fields; and out of every mouldering town 


Cries to Thee, 1 Lord, how long shall these things be? 
How long shall the icy-hearted Muscovite 
Oppress the region? ’ ” 




CHAPTER XI 


THE CAPITAL OF POLAND *S GLORY 

Journey from Vienna — A republic — An old city — University of 
Cracow — Wawel — Many churches — Cathedral and royal 
tombs — Jagiello Library — The Plants — The Rynek — The 
Sukiennice — Market — Municipal custom — The Kazimierz — 
Jews. 

When you board the train of the Northern Rail¬ 
way in Vienna, you seem to be leaving behind you 
Europe, at least the Europe that is best known. 
You begin to get a taste of the change that is com¬ 
ing before you enter your compartment. There will 
be Czechs, Germans, Ruthenians, and Poles — and 
it is to the old home of the latter that we are bound. 

It is also the main line of railway leading from 
Vienna to Odessa, Kiev, Moscow, and at the latter 
city connection is made with the Trans-Siberian 
Railway, so that there are likely to be Russians and 
Western Europeans bound for some point in Russia 
or the Orient. Altogether the passenger list will 
show representatives of a great many nationalities. 

There is little to see in the six or seven hours ’ 
journey to Cracow, except one little mud hut after 
another, a few unimportant towns, many half-naked 
children, wandering pigs and geese. The last named 
fowl will be seen everywhere, and it is a common 
166 


The Capital of Poland's Glory 


167 


sight to see women driving their awkward charges 
to the water. They are herded together like the vil¬ 
lage cows, and are gathered together in the morn¬ 
ing by the herder. In the evening the flock dimin¬ 
ishes as the various cottages are passed, for each 
goose seems to know its own domicile and drops out 
voluntarily. Some ridges of the Little Carpathians 
are visible in the distance, on which the snow may 
be seen long after it has disappeared on the level 
ground. The poverty and squalor seems to become 
even more apparent as Poland is approached. 

At last Cracow is reached. Porters by the dozen 
will be awaiting the incoming train ready to take 
personal charge of both passengers and baggage. 
They mean well and are reliable, even if they are 
a little impetuous at times. Cracow is in the north¬ 
ern part of Austria, not far from the Russian bor¬ 
der, and was at one time one of the most important 
towns in Europe. When Poland was at the height 
of her power, and before the removal of the seat of 
the government to Warsaw, in 1610, Cracow was 
the capital of a country which was at that time one 
of the largest kingdoms of Europe, being half as 
large again as the France of to-day. 

Cracow was also the last capital of Poland as an 
entity. After the division of most of the country 
among Russia, Germany and Austria, this city fell 
to Austria. But Napoleon stepped in and took it; 
a congress held in Vienna afterwards declared Cra- 



168 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 

cow and a small district surrounding “ for ever a 
free, independent and neutral city under the pro¬ 
tection of Russia, Austria, and Prussia.” This was 
in 1815. It was left as a republic until 1846, when 
Austria assumed the sovereignty after some dis¬ 
turbances had arisen among the peasants of Gali¬ 
cia. Thus it was the last rallying point of Polish 
national existence, and to-day it is the most char¬ 
acteristically Polish of any city. Warsaw is much 
larger and more cosmopolitan, and even Posen is of 
greater commercial importance. But the real heart 
of the national Polish spirit is in Krakau, as they 
write it, and the affection of the Poles turns toward 
this city as a precious memento of their vanished 
glory. 

Cracow is an old city, no one knows just how old, 
since its origin is lost in tradition. Its foundation 
is attributed to a mountain chief named Krakus, 
who built a fortress on the Wawel hill in the sixth 
century, after killing a dragon that dwelt there. 
Since that time Cracow has witnessed many stormy 
scenes, and on at least four different occasions it 
was in the hands of foreign invaders. Authentic 
history carries one back into quite a remote period, 
for the University of Cracow has already celebrated 
the five hundredth anniversary of its birth. This 
institution, which was first established by Casimir 
the Great in 1364, is a living monument to the 
statesmanship and liberality of the early Polish 




The Capital of Poland's Glory 


169 


kings. Since the year 1400 it has never ceased the 
work of granting degrees. Many of the foremost 
men of Poland owe their education to this univer¬ 
sity. 

Having been thrown in touch with many Poles in 
the United States, and knowing their intense loyalty 
to everything Polish, it was with great interest that 
I reached this city in which, for several centuries, 
had been concentrated all the hopes and aspirations 
of that race. All patriotic Americans can take a 
little interest as well, for Kosciuszko now lies at 
rest in the crypt of the cathedral amidst the sar¬ 
cophagi of the old Polish kings. 

The most striking feature in Cracow is the Wawel, 
(pronounced Vah-vel), which is really a small for¬ 
tified city in itself, and is situated on a hill which 
overlooks the rest of the city. It has a cathedral 
with its numerous chapels, barracks for its soldiers, 
dwelling-houses for the retainers, and a palace in 
which the kings themselves resided. Situated as it 
is on an imposing elevation, and overlooking the 
Vistula River, it has a formidable appearance, as it 
is entirely surrounded by lofty walls with towers at 
the corners. Cannon have belched forth their death¬ 
dealing messages from this enclosure on several oc¬ 
casions. It has been the scene of many interesting 
historical events. Memories of Casimir the Great, 
Sigismund the father and Sigismund the son, the 
brave Stephen Batory, and other sovereigns, linger 






170 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


around these old walls and turrets. The tragedy of 
a prelate slain by his sovereign, and the comedy of 
a king fleeing from his sceptre like a malefactor by 
night, mingle in one’s retrospections. 

For a long time the Wawel was used by the Aus¬ 
trians as a military barracks, but the Poles disliked 
this use of a place so sacred to them. The Austrian 
government offered to give it up if the city would 
provide other barracks. This has been done, and 
to-day the palace is being restored to its ancient 
splendour. The work is being thoroughly done, and 
the palace of the Wawel will be maintained as a 
national museum and memorial by this patriotic 
people. The court within has responded many times 
to the jousts of knights. I had the pleasure of go¬ 
ing through the palace with a Polish noble and his 
family, all of whom spoke English fairly well, and 
it was interesting to notice the feeling almost of 
reverence with which they looked upon this antique 
pile. 

“ Do you see the many churches? ” said one of 
the young ladies, as we reached a place where we 
had a magnificent outlook upon this old city. She 
pointed out the various church spires and towers, 
uplifted above the low roofs. “ There are almost 
forty of them,” she continued. This was said 
with a feeling of almost reverential pride. To 
the Poles these churches of Cracow are holy 
places. 




WAWEL. CRACOW 

















The Capital of Poland's Glory 171 

The Cracovians are a very religions people. The 
city is seen at its best on a religious holiday, when 
the people all turn out for the processions. The 
Corpus Christi celebration in Cracow is a very im¬ 
pressive occasion. The many great churches and the 
numerous street shrines over the city testify to their 
religious fervour. Their worship is full of ec¬ 
clesiastical pageantry and devotional symbolisms. 
The churches are a perfect riot of decorations. 
Gold, silver, jewels, rare marbles, costly carved 
woods, sculptures, beaten work in metals, — all of 
these will be found in great profusion within 
them. 

One of the most splendid of Cracow’s religious 
edifices is St. Mary’s, or the Panna Marya, on the 
market square. It is a Gothic basilica with Byzan¬ 
tine touches, and was founded in 1223, but rebuilt 
three centuries later. The principal altar is a gor¬ 
geous affair, and the church contains many old 
tombs as well as costly vestments. The walls are 
painted with several hundred golden angels on a 
blue background. The entrance to the churches is 
usually besieged by a multitude of mendicants, who 
piteously solicit alms of those who enter. Another 
curious sight is the great number of death notices 
posted on the fence or wall in front of the churches. 
Each death is announced in poster form in great 
black letters, and with a large black cross on it as 
well. 




172 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


The cathedral in the Wawel has heretofore been 
the only spot which has not been robbed of at least 
a part of its former glory, and it became a place of 
pilgrimage to every loyal Pole. It is the richest 
and most magnificent of all in its decorations. The 
Polish kings were always crowned here after the 
removal of the capital to this city, the only excep¬ 
tion being the last one, the unfortunate Stanislaus. 
Its splendour dates from Casimir III, who greatly 
embellished it in the fourteenth century. It has 
been called the Westminster Abbey of the Poles, for 
her greatest dead lie buried here, down underneath 
the floor of the sanctuary. It contains many chapels, 
all gaudily ornamented. The Poles have always 
been lavish in their gifts to religion, hence one will 
find gold, silver, precious stones, beautifully carved 
woods and the rarest of marbles in abundance in 
this cathedral. In the centre is a tabernacle, which 
covers a silver shrine in which are relics of St. Stan¬ 
islaus, the patron saint of Poland. It was he whom 
Boleslaw II, rebuked for his cruelties, beheaded with 
his own hand at the altar. The great altar is backed 
by four massive columns, each of which is heavily 
covered with gold. Through splendid stained glass 
windows the sunlight filters a perfect kaleidoscope 
of colour upon the many altars. 

The finest chapel is probably that of Sigismund 
Augustus. It is built of red Italian marble, almost 
as delicately carved as wood. The tomb itself is 



A CRACOW JEW 


















The Capital of Poland's Glory 181 


and sometimes they almost drive you mad with 
their importunities. 

Cracow has indeed seen much of life, and her 
experiences have been varied. In her youth her 
sons went forth to the crusades. In the fourteenth 
century her people are said to have numbered half 
a million. It is this dead spirit of the past that 
obtrudes itself everywhere to-day. It is seen in the 
narrow streets with houses turreted and needle- 
pointed, in the towers of the Wawel, and in the re¬ 
mains of the old walls that are stumbled upon here 
and there. The people still delight in telling the 
stranger of the glory that once was Poland’s. That 
is not strange, since they have no national existence 
to-day, except as subjects of another nation; and 
they love, like the old people whose life has been 
lived, to recall over and over again the days of 
former greatness. To-day it is a city of about one 
hundred thousand, and seems to be fairly prosper¬ 
ous. Electric cars, brilliantly lighted streets, and 
an occasional automobile passing by give it a touch 
of the twentieth century. It is an Austrian fortress 
of the first class, and always has a garrison of 
several thousand soldiers stationed there. In the 
military scheme of that empire it is a very impor¬ 
tant outpost. 



CHAPTER XII 


THE CAPITAL OF POLAND’S DECAY 


Founding of city — Geographical centre of Europe — Vistula River — 
Russian soldiers — Zamek — Stare Miasto — Ghetto — Photo¬ 
graphing — A progressive city — Lazienki Park — Praga — 
Courts — Cafes — Willanow. 

“ Here is Warszawa/ ’ said a Polish lawyer with 
whom I was travelling on the train from Vilna. 
The Russians call it Varsovie. One could readily 
see that a large city was near at hand, for it was 
evidenced in many ways. I stepped out on the plat¬ 
form of the imposing station as the train stopped, 
called a porter for my baggage, and a droshki driver 
soon landed me at the splendid modern Hotel Bris¬ 
tol, which became my home for several days. 

Warsaw was founded by the Duke of Massovia 
in 1269. It was in the sixteenth century that the 
city became the capital of Poland and the residence 
of her kings. It was a noted seat of Polish learning 
and culture before the dismemberment, and, next 
to Paris, was looked upon as the most brilliant cap¬ 
ital in Europe. It then had a reputation for prodi¬ 
gal splendour. It still is a city to which all Poles 
point with pride, although it is officially only a Rus¬ 
sian provincial town. In Warsaw, as in Cracow, 
the Poles are thoroughly at home, and they feel 
182 


The Capital of Poland's Decay 183 

that they are the only real citizens. It may not seem 
possible to yon, for you probably think of Warsaw 
as a city of Eastern Europe, hut it is practically 
the geographical centre of the continent. It is three 
hundred and twenty-five miles east of Berlin, and 
considerably more southwest of St. Petersburg. 

On arriving in Warsaw, at the present day, after 
having travelled through other parts of the Russian 
Empire, one feels as though he had left Russia be¬ 
hind, and is again in Western Europe. It is the real 
outpost of Western Europe. Here the broader 
gauge of the Russian railways begins. There is a 
cosmopolitan atmosphere about the city such as no 
other Russian city, not even St. Petersburg or 
Odessa, possesses. French seems almost like an 
auxiliary language, for the higher classes all speak 
it perfectly. The aristocratic classes frequently 
converse among themselves in that tongue. The 
Muscovite has as yet made little impression either 
on city or people. Although the Russian is master, 
he is of little consequence in the social life, for the 
Poles practically ostracize their overlords. 

The very situation of Warsaw is striking. Ap¬ 
proaching it from the broad Vistula River, one sees 
that its defences were faced towards the east, for 
from that direction came both Tartar and Russian. 
Therefore the fortifications were built on the river- 
bank, and commanded the valley of the Vistula. In 
fact the fort was built first, and the city then grew 




184 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


up around it for protection. The old fortifications 
have disappeared, with the exception of some walls 
near the royal palace. The new fort where the 
military are stationed is situated just outside the 
city, but within a very convenient distance in case 
trouble should arise. 

The Poles speak of Russia as of a foreign coun¬ 
try, and frequently with a sort of sneer. You notice 
at once that without exception all the names of the 
streets, and all the signs on the stores, are in two 
languages — one Russian, and one Polish. It is 
simply a little element in the contest of races. You 
see that the corner policemen wear the same uni¬ 
forms as in all other sections of Russia. You are 
not in Warsaw long before you see still stronger 
evidences of Russian sovereignty. Some of the 
hundred thousand or more soldiers will be seen 
passing through the streets. One day, when a Po¬ 
lish gentleman was acting as my guide, a military 
parade passed by. There were several regiments 
of infantry and cavalry, and a great many guns 
were noisily dragged over the rough streets. 

“ Look at those dirty Cossacks,” said my Polish 
friend, as the Cossack troops appeared, with an 
expression of hatred showing on his face. I looked 
around, and the same feeling was evident on the 
face of every Pole. The Cossack soldiers are recog¬ 
nized as cruel and unrelenting. Each man carries 
a long lance like one of the pikes carried by the 




A RUSSIAN LIEUTENANT OF POLICE 
















The Capital of Poland's Decay 185 


soldiers of Cromwell, a sword with a slight curve, 
a long carbine, and the cruel Cossack whip. The 
whip, called the nagaika, which they carry, has the 
same effect upon the Pole as a red flag upon a bull. 
The human probably uses more discretion than the 
brute, and awaits his chance to strike instead of 
making a blind dash, but he is aroused to equal 
anger. 

The nagaika is heavy and solid, and made from 
twisted hide. At the butt is a loop for the wrist, 
and near the end is a jagged lump of lead firmly 
tied in the strands. Whenever there is a riot, or 
any sort of a political disturbance, the Cossacks ride 
pell-mell down the street, swinging their terrible 
whips toward any one who fails to get out of the 
way. With a single blow they can slash a face or 
crack a skull. The military parades, similar to the 
one I witnessed, are held one day each week, so I 
was informed. In that way the strength of the 
mailed hand of the government is ever kept before 
the people. It is no wonder that the stores do not 
display postcard photographs of the imperial fam¬ 
ily for sale, as no purchasers would be found among 
these people. 

The broad and noble Vistula Eiver divides the 
city from its suburb of Praga, which has seen most 
of the fighting about Warsaw, and it is quite an im¬ 
posing stream. An old bridge almost a third of a 
mile in length connects these two sections. A splen- 



186 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


did new bridge has just recently been completed, 
and it was a much needed improvement. During 
the open season many boats of small size pass up 
and down the river, and the carrying trade is of 
considerable importance. It was of even greater 
importance in the olden days when the Vistula was 
all within Polish territory, and a boat could go 
from Cracow to its mouth without passing a foreign 
custom-house. 

On the Warsaw side of the Vistula, and right at 
the approach to the old bridge, stands the old royal 
castle, known as the Zamek. This was once the 
official residence of the Polish kings, but it is now 
the living-quarters of the Russian governor-general. 
It was mostly built by Sigismund III, who is repre¬ 
sented in a bronze statue on a lofty pillar in the 
square opposite the entrance. The inscription 
shows that it was erected by his son Wladislas IV. 
The inscription further calls attention to the fact 
that during his reign Moscow was captured by the 
Poles, and Wladislas was proclaimed Czar of Mus¬ 
covy. This was just before the first Romanov was 
placed upon the throne of Russia. 

Wladislas’s rule did not last long, however, be¬ 
cause he was a Roman Catholic, which made a re¬ 
ligious as well as racial objection to him. If one 
goes to Moscow he can see in the Red Square, facing 
the Kremlin, one of the most sacred spots in that 
holy city, a monument to Minine, the butcher of 







GENERAL VIEW OF WARSAW FROM PRAGA. 





































The Capital of Poland’s Decay 187 


Nijni Novgorod, who headed a popular movement 
similar to that led by Joan of Arc. Upon the mon¬ 
ument is an inscription stating that he and other 
patriots saved Russia from the Poles. Thus it is 
that one picks up the threads of history in travelling 
about. On this square facing the Zamek hundreds 
of Poles have been killed during the several insur¬ 
rections against Russian rule. In 1863 Russian 
soldiers camped here and fired at kneeling and un¬ 
resisting Poles as they sang the national hymn. 

Only a few relics of the days of Polish rule are 
still left, for the government does not wish to leave 
anything that will foster the spirit of patriotism. 
It is for this reason that relics sacred to the Poles 
were removed to a museum in Moscow, and much 
of the university library transferred to St. Peters¬ 
burg. It is for the same reason that it has always 
refused permission for the erection of a statue or 
any other memorial to the patriot Kosciuszko. 
Monuments to other noted Poles are permitted. A 
statue to Copernicus, unveiled in 1830, is one of the 
oldest statues now standing in the city. It was 
erected by a national subscription among the Poles. 
In the same way a memorial was raised to the poet 
Mieckiewicz. .. 

The ancient town of Warsaw centres around the 
old market, the Stare Miasto, which is not far from 
the Zamek. Here are quaint old narrow and lofty 
houses, with curious carvings on the fagades, which 



188 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


have changed but little in several centuries. The 
buildings look like the old guild houses that will be 
found in many cities of Europe. They are narrow, 
and for that reason five or six stories makes them 
look very tall. The square resembles somewhat the 
Faubourg St. Antoine quarter of Paris. In the old 
wine-shops around this square the Poles in the olden 
days used to drink the miod (mead) so loved by 
them, and their descendants sip that favourite 
liquor in the same establishments to this day. It is 
still a market-place, although it has been over¬ 
shadowed by the new market. Vendors of vegeta¬ 
bles, traffickers in kitchen utensils, and the dealers 
in old clothes monopolize the space. Disputes over 
a few kopecks may be heard on every side, for it is 
the poor who purchase here. Crowds of Poles and 
Jews pass in and out at all times, and they afford 
an interesting study of racial characteristics. 

In the old city will also be found the Ghetto, 
which is probably the most miserable of all. It is 
such a contrast to the bright and beautiful quar¬ 
ters of the newer city, where enterprise and pros¬ 
perity show up on all sides. Many of the streets are 
extremely narrow, and the narrowness of the thor¬ 
oughfares cuts out most of the sunlight. Undeci¬ 
pherable Hebrew hieroglyphics will be seen over 
the doors of the little stores. Some of the streets 
are more like little lanes or passageways, but they 
are intended to take the place of streets. Hundreds 




■iJSSSSSBSSSSSf’ 




- 


mm I p 


XiCGLAG CGPERMCO 
GRATA PATH!A 








issra 


GKAfO BOEHHArQ 


STATUE OF COPERNICUS, WARSAW, 















































































The Capital of Poland's Decay 189 


of individuals live in little courts back from the 
streets, which are so dilapidated that they ought to 
he torn down. 

The congestion has become much worse in the last 
two decades, since the systematic expulsions of the 
Jews from the cities outside the Pale. You see a 
little passageway, pass through it, and enter one of 
these courts. Children fairly swarm in them, and 
from the windows above you men, women and more 
children will be seen. One wonders where they find 
enough bedrooms to sleep in, without taking into 
consideration the matter of living-quarters. At 
least one-third of the eight hundred thousand pop¬ 
ulation are members of this race. They are almost 
wholly interested in barter and trade, and hundreds 
will Be seen at any time standing around and wait¬ 
ing for an odd job. One sees very few of them 
actually engaged in any sort of manual employ¬ 
ment, although there are a great many Jewish 
artisans here. The cleanliness and neatness of the 
Ghetto dwellers cannot be recommended, for these 
qualities are most conspicuous by their absence. 
As a matter of fact the Jews have been oppressed 
and persecuted so much in Russia that their better 
characteristics have been almost wholly suppressed. 

“ You will be arrested,’’ was the parting warn¬ 
ing of the hotel porter, as I left the Bristol one 
morning, camera in hand. He wanted me to apply 
to the police department for a permit. But I knew 



190 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


the delay involved in such an action, and decided to 
take a chance. I had secured permits in Moscow 
and St. Petersburg, and never had occasion to use 
them except as an interesting souvenir to show to 
friends. I left the soldiers and fort alone, and so 
was not interfered with. No inquisitive officer even 
asked me if I had a permit. Had he done so, half a 
rouble would undoubtedly have caused him to ex¬ 
perience a wonderful lapse of memory. 

In attempting to secure some photographs in the 
Ghetto, however, I had some amusing experiences. 
Every one seemed to be perfectly willing to become 
a subject. At one time I had an interesting group 
of a half-dozen subjects posed along the street, but 
others began to run in from every direction. There 
was so much movement that I could not take the 
photograph, for no fewer than a hundred had 
gathered in the group, and others were still coming. 
I started away, fearing that such a crowd would 
excite the curiosity of a policeman, and remember¬ 
ing that I had not secured the photographing per¬ 
mit. A crowd of small boys followed me, interested, 
as boys always are, in seeing what might be dope. 
I could not get rid of them, so I jumped on a passing 
street-car and made my escape. All of the Ghetto 
population seemed perfectly willing to have their 
photographs taken at any time. 

The Warsaw of to-day has become an important 
industrial city. Everywhere are signs of enter- 




THE STARE MIASTO, WARSAW 











The Capital of Poland's Decay 191 


prise. The smoke from the many chimneys indi¬ 
cates extensive manufacturing, and has taken the 
place of the smoke of gunpowder, at least tempo¬ 
rarily. The Poles make good workmen, so the man¬ 
ufacturers say, and there is always an abundance 
of labour to be had from among the millions of 
agricultural peasants. Lodz, not far distant from 
Warsaw, is a formidable rival. It has grown from 
an unimportant place to a city of four hundred 
thousand in a quarter of a century. Thousands of 
spindles are now turning out cotton goods, the most 
of which goes to other parts of Russia. 

The newer Warsaw is a beautiful city. It is en¬ 
terprising, too, and the clerks in the stores can ad¬ 
dress you in French and German, as well as in Rus¬ 
sian and Polish. The stores are very attractive. 
Splendid streets and beautiful parks abound. There 
are many fine apartment buildings of six or eight 
stories, the finest that may be found in Russia, and 
they are not greatly unlike many similar structures 
which may be seen in American cities. All of the 
better homes have a bright and cheerful look which 
one does not expect to find, and remind one very 
much of Paris or Vienna. 

Only a block or two from the centre of the city 
is a fine park filled with noble trees and beds of 
flowers. Above the trees, however, glisten the 
gilded domes of the magnificent new cathedral, 
which was dedicated by the Russians in 1912. It 



192 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


was built at an expense of several millions of dol¬ 
lars, the greater part of which was supplied by the 
Holy Synod. The boulevards furnish excellent 
drives for the Varsovians, and many elegant equi¬ 
pages will be seen. In them will be seated finely 
gowned women and aristocratic-looking men, and 
the demi-monde will not be missing. Near the end 
of the main street are two other parks, which will 
compare with almost any similar pleasure-grounds 
in Europe. One of these is the Saski Ogrod, or the 
Saxon Gardens, which is a favourite resort both 
winter and summer. It is a delightful combination 
of groves, flower-beds and little lakes. On a fine 
Sunday afternoon in summer the paths are fairly 
thronged with the crowds of promenaders. Chil¬ 
dren with their grown-up guardians are numerous, 
for the supply of youngsters in Poland is still plen¬ 
tiful. The other beautiful park is the Lazienki. 

The Lazienki was at one time a royal park. In 
it is an attractive palace, and an open-air stone 
amphitheatre seating one thousand persons, mod¬ 
elled after those of ancient Greece. It was remod¬ 
elled by the past Polish king, and also by Alexander 
I of Bussia. The last king, Stanislaus, used to have 
about him a gay company of poets, wits and fair 
ladies in the Lazienki. Attired as shepherdesses or 
goddesses, these ladies would flit about the grounds, 
promenade with him, or boat with him on the little 
lake. Whole bands of peasant girls would be gath- 



The Capital of Poland’s Decay 


193 


ered to sing their popular songs, and dance the 
national dances for his amusement. It was indeed 
a butterfly court that lived here, and its morality 
will not stand close investigation. Lazienki is still 
crown property. 

There is also a park on the Praga side, which is 
the resort of the bourgeoise, the common people, on 
Sunday. Here are side shows, merry-go-rounds, 
swings, and all sorts of amusements or games. 
Cakes, candies, fruits, and mild drinks are sold, but 
no alcoholic liquors. This resort is fostered by the 
imperial government in an effort to minimize the 
effects of alcohol. There are many dancing pavil¬ 
ions, and all, from the peasant girls to the soldiers 
in their shining top-boots, seem to enjoy this pas¬ 
time. It is an interesting picture of Warsaw life 
that is presented in this park. 

Along the principal streets are a number of pal¬ 
aces of the nobility, which were once centres of the 
life of the Polish aristocrats. Many of them are 
really magnificent mansions, worthy of royalty it¬ 
self. Some of them are still occupied by descend¬ 
ants of the oldest families; others have been ap¬ 
propriated by the government for its use. The 
courts are held in these expropriated palaces, one 
of them being the old Krasinski Palace. I visited 
the courts of the First Instance and Second Instance 
in company with a Polish lawyer, who explained the 
procedure to me. No one is admitted to the bar 



194 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


until he can pass his examination in the Russian 
language. He must wear the uniform prescribed 
for Russian courts. In each court sat three judges 
in semi-military uniforms, with a holy icon of the 
Orthodox Church above them. A room is main¬ 
tained for the exclusive use of a priest to adminis¬ 
ter oaths. All of these judges were Russians, who 
did not understand the Polish language. An official 
interpreter translated the testimony of the wit¬ 
nesses into Russian for the benefit of the judges. 
It is easy to see how ill feeling might grow up from 
the conduct of the courts alone. 

A number of the churches, which are now re¬ 
splendent with gilded domes and the triple cross, 
were formerly Polish Catholic churches. They were 
likewise appropriated, and this has caused ill feel¬ 
ing. The religious atmosphere is just as noticeable 
here as in Cracow, and there are many worshippers 
in the churches. Sometimes they will be seen lying 
prostrate on the floors. There is no church, how¬ 
ever, that will compare with the Wawel Cathedral. 
The Warsaw Cathedral is in the old town, wedged 
in by old buildings, so that it does not attract the 
attention of a visitor. It was originally founded in 
the thirteenth century, but has been rebuilt. In it 
are buried many nobles and former dignitaries of 
Poland. Its decorations are of the usual gaudy 
and rather overdone style. 

The many cafes, or cukiernias, remind one of 



The Capital of Poland's Decay 195 


Paris, for the tables are set out in the streets. They 
exist by the dozen. Groups of people seat them¬ 
selves at the tables while they drink tea and munch 
the delicious Warsaw cakes. The Poles drink their 
full share of alcoholic liquors, also, and ^plenty of 
places for its purchase will be found. Nearly every 
restaurant has its little band of musicians, who play 
at certain hours. At night all of them are filled 
with convivial crowds, and life is far from dull. 
One of the most noticeable characteristics of the 
Poles is their love of music. It is almost like travel¬ 
ling in Italy, for music will be heard everywhere. 
If the Polish youth has nothing else in the way of 
a musical instrument, he will play the accordion, 
the jewsharp, or mouth-organ. In every way there 
is a lightness and vivacity to the Polish character 
in this, their home city, which one does not expect 
to find. The sole aim of a large percentage of the 
citizens seems to be that of amusing themselves. 
One should enjoy good music and acting in order 
thoroughly to appreciate Warsaw. One of the busi¬ 
est places is known as the Krakowskie Przedmiescie, 
where the churches, newspaper offices, hotels, and 
a number of public buildings are centred. At night 
this is a centre of life and brilliantly illuminated. 
Droshkis and taxicabs dart back and forth as care¬ 
less of the danger to pedestrians as they are on 
Broadway. 

A curious little railway carries the traveller a 



196 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


few miles from Warsaw, out across carefully culti¬ 
vated level fields watched over by little shrines dedi¬ 
cated to favourite saints, to the diminutive, thatched- 
roofed village of Willanow — the w being pro¬ 
nounced like v. It was on this plain where the Vola 
used to assemble. As many as one hundred and 
fifty thousand Polish nobles have gathered here 
during disputed elections, so it is said. In the midst 
of the plain two enclosures were made, one for the 
Senate and one for the nuncios. The proceedings 
were always opened by mass in the old cathedral, 
and then the procession proceeded to the plain. In 
the city all the shops were closed, and many barred 
their windows. The streets would be filled with 
brilliantly uniformed troops, palatines, castellans 
and dignitaries, who fairly blazed with ecclesiastical 
and other decorations. Vast tents were erected, 
and thousands of horses were stabled round 
about. 

Willanow was the beautiful country home of John 
Sobieski (John III), by whom it was so remodelled 
as to be almost rebuilt. It is a magnificent building, 
a white quadrangle of stone, not so large as the 
average royal palace, but beautiful in miniature, 
and set in the midst of a landscape skirted with 
water, decorated with gardens, and modelled after 
that of Schonnbrun at Vienna. The park is said to 
have been Sobieski’s own planning. Beautiful 
avenues of trees lead from every direction toward 




THE PALACE OF WILLANOW 

























The Capital of Poland's Decay 197 


the palace, which is approached by a terrace. It 
was built mostly by the labour of Turkish captives, 
who were brought back by Sobieski after his victory 
at Vienna. 

The outside walls of Willanow are decorated with 
statues at every available point and with many 
really creditable paintings, much after the style of 
some Italian villas, the scenes of which represent 
the victories of Sobieski. It may be said, however, 
that they were put on by his successor, and not by 
himself. The whole palace is built after the models 
of Italian artists. The rooms, many of which are 
stately, are maintained much as they were by that 
man. They are decorated with portraits and cabi¬ 
nets, many of the portraits being of his wife. Sev¬ 
eral rooms are prettily decorated with Chinese curi¬ 
osities and in Chinese taste. There is the little 
chapel in which Sobieski said his prayers each 
morning, and there are the apartments of his vain 
French spouse, to whom was due much of the un¬ 
happiness of his reign. He did not have peace in 
his rule, because of the jealousy of the nobles, and 
he had no more peace at home, because of the 
brawls of his revengeful wife. The art gallery has 
a number of copies of works of famous artists, but 
few originals. Much of the furnishing is the orig¬ 
inal furniture used by that monarch. On the green 
sward in front of the palace, and near the attractive 
church, stands a great and imposing Gothic tomb 




198 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 

of the Potocki. The family which owns Willanow 
at the present time — the Branickas — occupy the 
palace but seldom, and it is preserved for the bene¬ 
fit of those who may wish to visit it. 




CHAPTER XIII 


GERMANY AND HER POLISH SUBJECTS 

Routes — Thom — Agricultural prosperity — Gnesen — Posen — Im¬ 
perial Palace — Rathaus — The Reichstag — Polish paintings — 
Dislike of Slav — Suppression of language — Bismarck — Pan- 
Germanism — Colonization Commission — Petty regulations. 

There are two through routes between Berlin and 
St. Petersburg. One passes through Konigsburg, 
and the other runs through Posen and Warsaw. 
Konigsburg is a city with much history. At one 
time a stronghold of the Teutonic Knights, it became 
subject to Poland. At a later period it became the 
capital of Prussia and the residence of the Elector 
of Brandenburg. To-day much of the city is mediae¬ 
val, and a visitor can spend a day pleasantly in 
viewing the sights to be seen. 

By whichever route one goes the traveller between 
Russia and Germany knows when the boundary line 
of the two empires is reached, for plenty of soldiers 
will be found on either side. As my train left Alex- 
androvo, the last station in Russia, after the pass¬ 
ports had been examined, the doors of the train 
were locked, and they were not again opened until 
the German border was passed. Until the train 
started, guards patrolled the track on either side of 
the coaches in order to see that none got on except 
199 





200 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


those whose passports were in proper form, for it 
is necessary to get a special permit on leaving the 
country. The first stop on the German side is the 
town of Thorn, which figures many times in Polish 
history. It was here that Copernicus, the famous 
astronomer, was born. Thorn is in the province of 
Bromberg, for thus has the original Polish name of 
Bydgose been Germanized. Thorn has little of gen¬ 
eral interest to-day, but it is a thriving town and 
an important railroad centre of some thirty thou¬ 
sand persons. 

The better agricultural conditions in German Po¬ 
land at once become manifest. The land is level 
and carefully cultivated. The little thatched cot¬ 
tages look better; the surroundings seem cleaner 
and more attractive. Red tiles have replaced the 
thatched roofs on the other side of the international 
line, but the picturesque windmills and antiquated 
well-sweeps still remain. Good roads have replaced 
the tortuous highways of Russia, and the train 
speeds over the iron rails at a much greater speed. 
The names of the stations appear only in German. 
The peasants that one sees are still Slavs, however, 
and not Teutons, and one knows that he is still in 
Poland. 

A short ride on the comfortable German train 
brings one to the old city of Gnesen, so noted in 
Polish annals. Through being made the headquar¬ 
ters of the Church, Gnesen (Gniesno in Polish), has 



Germany and Her Polish Subjects 201 


been termed the first capital of Poland. This city, 
said to be the oldest town in Poland, lies a little 
northeast of Posen. It is a city of about twenty- 
five thousand people, in the German government of 
Bromberg. Down to the beginning of the fourteenth 
century the Polish kings were crowned in this city, 
in order that the ceremony might be conducted by 
the archbishop, and in the cathedral church was laid 
the body of St. Adalbert. 

Posen, or Posnan, as it is in Polish, however, 
might even with greater reason be called the first 
capital of Poland, for Mieczyslaw, Boleslaw, and 
several of the later kings made it their home, and 
are buried in the cathedral in this city. It is like¬ 
wise a very old town, and only about fifty miles 
from the Russian border in a direct line. At the 
present time it is one of the strongest military cen¬ 
tres in the German Empire, and the city has been 
very much Germanized. For centuries Posen was 
an important place in the overland trade between 
Europe and Asia. Of the population, approaching 
one hundred and fifty thousand, probably one-half 
are German, and only about one-twentieth are Jews. 
It will thus be seen that this race is much less 
numerous here than in Cracow or Warsaw, the other 
chief Polish cities. The Posen Jews do not dress 
with the same peculiarities, either, but follow the 
costumes of their neighbours. 

Posen is a fortress of the first rank, and there is 



202 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


usually a garrison of ten thousand or more soldiers 
stationed there. It is situated at the confluence of 
the Cybina and Warathe rivers. Considerable com¬ 
merce is carried on these rivers, although the water 
is not deep enough for vessels of any great size. 
The newer part of Posen, which has been erected 
since this province fell to Prussia in the partition 
of 1793, has decidedly Germanized characteristics. 
In fact, in the newer part it could not be distin¬ 
guished from any other German city. This change 
has all been wrought since Napoleon closed his 
career as map adjuster of Europe. 

There is an appearance of industry about the city 
of Posen, and prosperity is evident on all sides. In 
fact, from an economic standpoint, all of German 
Poland has prospered. One of the most striking 
features of Posen is the new royal palace completed 
only a few years ago, hut which has never yet been 
occupied by Wilhelm II. It was built in order to 
attach the Poles to the person of the emperor by 
establishing one of his residences here, but as yet 
it has not succeeded in accomplishing this end. His 
residences are so numerous that it is almost impos¬ 
sible to occupy them all, and then, so it is said, he 
is rather afraid to live among his Polish subjects. 
But I do not believe that either cowardice or timid¬ 
ity can ever be charged to the present head of the 
Brandenburg dynasty. 

It is quite a long drive from the station in Posen 









RIVER SCENE, POSEN. 
























Germany and Her Polish Subjects 203 


to the city, past the royal palace and other imposing 
public buildings. All public signs appear only in 
German, which shows the ruthless attempt to de¬ 
nationalize everything Polish. 

“ How does it come that all street signs are in 
German? ” I asked a merchant in Posen. 

“ The government will not allow us to use Po¬ 
lish/ J he answered. This is going further than 
autocratic Russia. 

I could hardly believe that this was really the old 
Polish city of Posen at first, until a tour of inves¬ 
tigation led me down to the older part of the munic¬ 
ipality. A great fire a century ago destroyed the 
greater part of the city, and this accounts for the 
changed appearance. The rebuilt sections were 
thoroughly stamped with the German individuality. 
The Polish characteristics can be seen to the best 
advantage in the older part of the city around the 
Alte Markt, the old market, the buildings of which 
date back several centuries. The appearance is 
very similar to the Stare Miasto in Warsaw. The 
Rathaus is a Gothic Renaissance building, con¬ 
structed in 1536, after designs by an Italian archi¬ 
tect. Its tower is more than two hundred feet high, 
and it is really a very attractive building. It has 
just been thoroughly remodelled and renovated. In 
front of the Rathaus is a pillory of 1535, and a 
fountain which is very old. 

The names on the business places in this part of 



204 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 

the city are almost wholly Polish, as the business is 
nearly all conducted by that nationality or Polish 
Jews. Poles of the poorer class dwell in the sub¬ 
urbs of Walleschei and Schwedka. Polish women 
wearing the full skirts so characteristic of them will 
be seen going to and fro from the markets, carrying 
their baskets or bundles of produce or trade. In 
appearance they are just the same as you might 
see in Cracow or Warsaw. There are many 
churches in Posen, and they have plenty of wor¬ 
shippers during the hours of service. One com¬ 
mendable feature is that school buildings are more 
noticeable than in either the Russian or Austrian 
sections of that ancient kingdom. 

It is now almost two decades more than a century 
since the last partition of Poland, which at one time 
reached within eighty miles of Berlin. There is 
still a Polish question to be reckoned with. There is 
not a meeting of the Reichstag in which the subject 
does not arise in some form. It is to some extent 
the racial antagonism of the Teuton and the Slav. 
A boundary of seven hundred and fifty miles of 
plains with no natural obstructions exists between 
Russia and Germany, and the nearest point is less 
than two hundred miles from Berlin. A chain of 
fortresses has been established near this line. The 
Poles console themselves sometimes by going to 
Cracow and looking upon the painting by the Polish 
artist, Jan Matejko, entitled u The Prussian Horn- 




AN ANCIENT HOUSE, POSEN. 








































Germany and Her Polish Subjects 205 


age. ’ 1 It represents the envoys of Prussia as yield¬ 
ing obeisance to Sigismund I, and brings to their 
minds the fact that Prussia once acknowledged the 
sovereignty of Poland. 

There is also another painting by the same artist, 
of the Battle of Griinwald in Cracow, portraying 
a famous victory over the Teutonic Knights in 1410. 
Prussia had become so downtrodden by the mili¬ 
tary oligarchy of these Knights, who, as power came 
to them, prostituted the very name of Christianity, 
that the Prussians begged their more powerful 
neighbours to assist them in breaking the bondage. 
Religion with that order was simply a convenient 
cloak to shield a corrupt and rapacious government. 
These paintings also vividly show to one not a Pole 
the one-time vastly superior position of Poland over 
the Prussia of five centuries ago. 

There are about four million Poles who are Ger¬ 
man subjects, but not Germans in any sense of the 
word. The fear or hatred of Russia appears in the 
treatment of the Poles. They are looked upon as 
the vanguard of the powerful Slav race, with whom 
the German believes the Teuton will eventually have 
to fight for world supremacy. Therefore the Poles 
must be subdued and assimilated. Because only 
German names and official proclamations are seen 
throughout Eastern Germany, does not mean that 
the people are German. One can tell this by listen¬ 
ing to any groups that he may see talking in Thorn, 



206 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


or Posen, or Dantzig. This last named city, once 
the principal port of Poland, has been more com¬ 
pletely nationalized than the others, because its 
commercial importance has brought in a great influx 
of Germans from other parts of the empire. 

-—Prussia spared no effort to Germanize her Polish 
provinces from the very beginning of her sover¬ 
eignty, and the original Prussia has become the 
modern Germany. It began vigorously in 1830, and 
gained a fresh impetus with the consolidation of the 
various states into the German Empire. Her plans 
include the wiping out of the Polish language and 
introducing German settlers. This scheme origi¬ 
nated in the fertile brain of Bismarck, whose aus-~ 
tere countenance looks down from a lofty pedestal 
on the people of Posen. It was only one of the many 
schemes of that ambitious statesman to create a yet 
more powerful Germany. William II has proved no 
impotent successor in that policy, and the building 
up of German solidarity has gone steadily on. 
Prince Von Bulow has declared that the Polish 
question is the most vitally important one in Ger¬ 
man home politics. 

The ambition of modern Germany is boundless, 
and the unfortunate Poles have been caught in this 
maelstrom. Germany still hopes for the final disin¬ 
tegration of Austria, and the uniting of Vienna and 
the Austrian German provinces to a still greater 
Germany. This would add eight or ten more mil- 




THE RATHAUS, POSEN. 


as :« " 












Germany and Her Polish Subjects 207 


lions of German-speaking inhabitants. Many of 
these Austrian Germans openly refer to Germany 
as the Fatherland. The hopes of the Pan-Germanic 
School include the Swedes, Norwegians, Danes, 
Dutch, Swiss, and all other nationalities of Teutonic 
origin. They dream of a future German Empire 
that will reach from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic, 
with a Hohenzollern ruler on the throne. This gives 
an idea of what is meant by Pan-Germanism. 

But Russia is ambitious, also, and is pursuing a 
Russification policy, in which Germans have been 
made to feel the sting of an unyielding autocracy as 
well. The Russian provinces of Livonia, Courland, 
Esthonia, and Kovno, on the southern shore of the 
Gulf of Finland, which are known as the Baltic 
Provinces, are strongly German. In the counting- 
houses, in the exchange, on the quays, and in all 
places of business in such cities as Riga, Reval, 
Libau, Mittau, and Dorpat, the guttural German 
will be heard far more than the high-keyed Russian 
inflection. The names on the sign-boards of the 
business places show the Teutonic origin of the pro¬ 
prietors. The rathaus and domkirche will be found 
in every town. The Hanseatic League was respon¬ 
sible for the Germanization. The German language 
is now under the ban in the schools of those prov¬ 
inces, and the University of Dorpat, an ancient 
centre of German culture, has been Russified. Ger¬ 
many has protested, but her protests have been 



208 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


about as availing as those of the Poles living in 
German territory. 

Large tracts of land were bought in the Polish 
provinces by money appropriated from the German 
imperial treasury. This is sold to German settlers 
from other parts of the empire. Some of the Polish 
landlords have been induced, either by their poverty 
or high prices, to dispose of their holdings. The 
Colonization Commission was first established in 
1886 , with an appropriation of twenty million dol¬ 
lars, and up to the present time more than a hun¬ 
dred millions have been spent. Big prices were 
paid, but much of the land was bought of thrifty 
Teutons who saw a good chance to unload. The 
Commission explained this by saying that otherwise 
the land would have fallen into the hands of the 
Poles, who had formed a protective society to coun¬ 
teract the efforts of the Colonization Commission. 
So far, even after a generation of persistent effort, 
the number of German settlers thus introduced has 
been comparatively small. The anti-Polish move 
has already cost the government a great deal of 
money, and the results have not been satisfactory. 
Compulsory expropriation is now advocated by the 
supporters of the Colonization Commission in the 
Reichstag. 

The main effect of the government effort has been 
a great improvement in agriculture. The German 
settlers find themselves ostracized and boycotted by 



Germany and Her Polish Subjects 209 


their Polish neighbours. Their incoming has 
greatly intensified the nationalist feeling among the 
Poles. The Polish nobles, who have sold their lands, 
have simply gone to the neighbouring towns and en¬ 
tered commerce in some form, and have thus not 
been eliminated from the problem. In material de¬ 
velopment one can find no fault with Germany’s 
rule, for trade has advanced by leaps and bounds. 
But Germany seems to treat her Polish subjects as 
though they were in some way inferior to the Teu¬ 
tons. This is one of the exasperations the Poles 
have to endure. The birth rate among the Poles 
is still larger than among their German neighbours. 

There is a law forbidding the use of Polish in 
public meetings. Polish children must attend 
schools where only German is taught, but the priests 
privately teach them at home where it is possible. 
The government has taken entire charge of the 
schools. At first religious instruction was left to 
the priests, but even this has been generally super¬ 
seded. In one place, a few years ago, a number of 
children were ordered to be caned because they re¬ 
fused to recite the cathechism in German. The 
parents indignantly invaded the schoolhouse, and 
attempted to prevent the punishment. A score of 
them were sentenced to imprisonment for varying 
lengths. There was great excitement throughout all 
Poland, and hostile demonstrations took place be¬ 
fore the German consulates in Warsaw and Lem- 



210 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


berg. The matter is not settled yet, and children 
frequently refuse to answer catechism questions in 
German. 

Only Germans are appointed to offices, and Polish 
recruits are sent to distant provinces. Letters must 
be addressed in German, or they will not be deliv¬ 
ered. Mixed marriages are discouraged. “ Expe¬ 
rience teaches/ ’ said Bismarck, “ that a Polish 
wife makes her husband a Polish patriot in the 
twinkling of an eye.” One result has been an inten¬ 
sification of the feeling of Polish nationality. They 
would almost welcome the Pan-Slav idea as fostered 
by Russian statesmen. These things are bound to 
have some effect in the end, for the children only 
learn German words for modern inventions, but it 
is a slow and really cruel process. It is likewise 
just as much contrary to promises made at the time 
of partition as is the conduct of Russia, for the 
Prussian king guaranteed the free use of language, 
schools and a degree of self-government. 

“ Your language,” said Frederick William III at 
Vienna, in 1815, “ shall be used together with the 
German in all public transactions.” With this 
promise he obligated both himself and his succes¬ 
sors. 

Germany should be gratified that her Polish sub¬ 
jects have never taken up arms vigorously against 
her rule, and little German blood has been spilled in 
maintaining order. It is true that there was a revolt 




Germany and Her Polish Subjects 211 


at Posen in 1848, bnt revolution was rife all over 
Germany in that year. Tens of thousands of pure 
Germans migrated to Brazil and North America as 
a result of the disturbances of that period, and the 
Poles were no worse than the Teutons themselves. 
The armed resistance of the German Poles has been 
little as compared with that of their brethren in 
Russia. 



CHAPTER XIV 


AUSTRIA AND HER POLISH SUBJECTS 

Galicia — Ruthenians — Austria-Hungary — Mixture of races — 
Many religions — Pan-Slavism —Agricultural poverty —Wie- 
liczka — An underground city of salt — Polish freedom, — Lem¬ 
berg — Passports. 

Austrian Poland is contained in the province 
known as Galicia (pronounced as if spelled Galit- 
zia) which contains thirty thousand square miles, 
making it a little smaller than the state of Indiana. 
In this province there are about eight million of 
people, of whom the Poles constitute a little more 
than one-half. Although this province was united 
to Poland in the fourteenth century, it has never 
been thoroughly Polonized. In the eastern portion, 
around Lemberg, the Ruthenians are almost as nu¬ 
merous as the Poles. The Ruthenians are of the 
same nationality as the Little Russians of the Rus¬ 
sian Empire. 

There is not always the best of feeling between 
the two elements in this section of Austria. The 
Poles are the best organized faction, and practically 
rule the province. In the local Diet of one hundred 
and sixty-one members, the Ruthenians only elect 
about one-tenth of the representation, although they 
number fully three-sevenths of the population. This 
212 



RUTHENIAN PEASANT GIRLS, AND THEIR FOREMAN, GALICIA 










Austria and Her Polish Subjects 213 


legislative body has the greatest degree of autonomy 
of any local assemblies of Austria. The Poles elect 
nearly all the representatives to the Reichsrath at 
Vienna as well. In that immiscible national Parlia¬ 
ment of the strange mosaic of nations known as 
Austria-Hungary, the Poles with about eighty votes 
have frequently held the balance of power. One 
Polish noble has even held the position of premier 
of the empire. 

Austria-Hungary is a curious conglomeration of 
races and nationalities — Slav, Teuton, Latin, and 
Mongolian. The Slavs are by far the strongest ele¬ 
ment, but they are divided into a number of groups 
more or less antagonistic among themselves. There 
is a pan-Slav school which aims to unite all the mem¬ 
bers of this nationality. With the exception of the 
wedge of Hungarians, the Slavs are fairly compact 
in Eastern Europe. The greater part of European 
Turkey is inhabited by Slavs. In Austria the Slavs 
include the Poles, Czechs, Ruthenians, Croatians, 
Servians and Slovenians. Pan-Slavism, however, 
has not such a strong focusing point as pan-Ger¬ 
manism, for the autocratic government of Russia 
does not attract as does Germany; nor, on the other 
hand, does the Slav nature lend itself so readily to 
discipline and cohesion as the Teutonic nature. 

There is no Austrian language, no Austrian liter¬ 
ature, no Austrian race or patriotism; and about 
the only element of cohesion that exists is a loyalty 




214 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


to the emperor, Franz Joseph, and the Hapsburg 
family. Whether it will continue to the succeeding 
members of that family upon the death of the pres¬ 
ent emperor, the future alone will divulge. The 
Hungarians are of Mongolian origin, and are the 
strongest single element in Austria-Hungary. Next 
come the Germans, and in their order would prob¬ 
ably follow Czechs, Poles, Ruthenians, Servians, 
Croatians, Slovenians, Jews and Italians. In the 
Reichsrath it is said that twenty-one different lan¬ 
guages are spoken by the members. The racial 
antagonism has frequently exhibited itself in violent 
scenes in this national assembly, in which blood has 
been shed on more than one occasion. 

In the matter of religion, also, there is almost as 
great commixtion as in language and race, although 
Austria-Hungary is considered the greatest Roman 
Catholic power in the world. By its constitution the 
ruling dynasty must profess that faith. Vast wealth 
is in the hands of the Church, which is among the 
largest of the landed proprietors. The greater part 
of the soil along the Danube is owned by that re¬ 
ligious body. We must remember, however, that the 
Reformation really began at Prague with John 
Huss, and the term Moravia is almost synonymous 
with Protestantism. Hence there are millions of 
those who profess the Orthodox, Armenian, Lu¬ 
theran, Calvinist, Jewish and other faiths living in 
this empire, and even Mohammedanism is well rep- 



Austria and Her Polish Subjects 215 


resented. It is no wonder that races with snch 
divergent origin and religious faith have never 
mingled; that each one has jealously guarded its 
own nationality, and lived its own life. The things 
most feared by the Austrian ruling family are Pan- 
Slavism, as fostered by Russia, and Pan-German¬ 
ism, as represented by aggressive modern Germany. 

Galicia is probably the poorest province of old 
Poland. Agricultural prosperity can easily be seen 
in the Polish provinces of Russia and Germany, but 
Galicia looks terribly poor. The exhaustion of gen¬ 
erations of war has undoubtedly contributed to this 
condition, but it was not so favourably endowed by 
nature. There is a fairly level plain region about 
Cracow, but it becomes more rolling as Lemberg is 
approached. All kinds of grain and vegetables 
grow in this soil. There are also some rich petro¬ 
leum wells, and the famous old salt mines of Wie- 
liczka, only a few miles from Cracow, which have 
been worked for more than eight hundred years and 
still yield abundantly. 

The salt mines of Wieliczka are known to have 
been worked as far back as 1252, and no one knows 
how much longer. At one time they were one of 
the principal sources of revenue to the Polish kings. 
These hundreds of years of excavations have honey¬ 
combed out of the solid salt crust an underground 
city of rock salt. No railroad is permitted to run 
near them for fear that the vibrations will cause 



216 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


disaster. There is an intricate congerie of wind¬ 
ing streets and dim alleys. In them will be found 
pillared churches, staircases, restaurants, shrines, 
statues, monuments, a central railroad station for 
the little narrow gauge railway, and a thousand 
other wonders. 

Access to the Wieliczka salt mine is not easy, for 
the government is watchful, and the workmen them¬ 
selves are searched each night when they leave as 
carefully as if all the crystals were diamonds. The 
entrance is through a long, low building, in which 
are located the administration offices. Elevators 
take one down to the abyss, or one may descend by 
staircases, which for the great part are cut out of 
solid salt. The religious nature of the Polish 
workmen is shown in the salt-hewn cathedral of St. 
Anthony, which dates from the seventeenth century, 
and is the work of pious workmen. Salt-hewn 
statues of St. Stanislaus and St. Clement will be 
found here, and there is a salt crucifix and a salt 
pulpit. In other parts of this underground city 
there are also small chapels in which there are many 
sacred objects carved out of the salt. 

The largest chamber in this subterranean city is. 
the ball-room, which is some three hundred feet long, 
with an arched roof that is one hundred and ninety 
feet high in the highest place. There is a chandelier 
containing a couple of hundred candles, which is 
made of salt crystals hung together by wire. When 



Austria and Her Polish Subjects 217 


the lights are lit the salt walls glisten, and the crys¬ 
tals flash many rays of colours. Entrance to the 
ball-room is through a triumphal archway, also of 
salt. Whenever a new 4 4 street ” is opened, the 
event is celebrated by a ball in this room. Then 
hundreds of Galician peasants make merry with 
their dances. A number of members of the royal 
family of Austria have visited these underground 
chambers, and the Czar Alexander I also visited 
them. 

Some two thousand workmen, employed in eight- 
hour shifts, are constantly engaged in excavating 
rock salt. As a rule it is said that they are short¬ 
lived, since the atmosphere seems to have a bad 
effect upon health in general. The men do not seem 
unhappy, however, although wages as a rule do not 
exceed about twenty cents a day. Accidents have 
happened on numerous occasions. Some of them 
have been through fires breaking out in the timbers 
which are used as supports; at other times masses 
of salt rock, sometimes weighing several tons, have 
fallen and wrought havoc; on a few occasions the 
waters in the salt lakes have risen in some unac¬ 
countable way and drowned the workmen. These 
little lakes, in which the saline water is ordinarily 
from twenty to thirty feet deep, are navigated by 
ferry boats. Little trolley cars are drawn over the 
tracks by ponies, many of which have never seen 
daylight, and are born blind. In the central station 



218 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


there is a cafe and restaurant where the people can 
dine and drink as much as they wish. 

Polish hopes of nationality cluster around Galicia. 
This is because it is the only section where the Poles 
are still allowed to develop and rule themselves with 
very little interference from the governing power. 
It is the only portion of the old commonwealth 
where the Poles can breathe freely, speak their own 
language without fear, and openly educate their 
children in the beloved tongue. The Poles do prac¬ 
tically as they desire, so long as they render the 
military service demanded of them, and pay the 
taxes assessed. Austria does nothing to try to 
stamp out the Polish language or customs as do her 
neighbours, Russia and Germany, with their Polish 
population. Warsaw merchants are obliged to em¬ 
ploy at least one Russian clerk. Germany will not 
forward letters bearing Polish titles. As a conse¬ 
quence a real affection has grown up among the 
Poles for the aged Franz Joseph. 

Literature of all kinds flourishes, and newspa¬ 
pers are practically untrammelled. Books directed 
against the government itself are sold openly in the 
bookstores of Cracow. It may be said, however, 
that the old spirit of individualism shows in the 
press, as many of the columns are given up to the 
personal squabbles between nobles and other lead¬ 
ing families. Schools are not interfered with in any 
way, and letters may contain Polish titles, which is 




% 




POLISH COTTAGE, GALICIA 













Austria and Her Polish Subjects 219 


forbidden both in Prussia and Russia. There is 
absolutely no effort on the part of the Austrian 
government to make life unpleasant for the Poles, 
and they are officially recognized as such. She has 
recently given up the Wawel, which had been used 
for a long time as a military garrison, in order that 
the Poles may preserve this as a memorial of their 
old life. Taxes are fairly high, as they are in all 
parts of Austria, for the revenue required to sup¬ 
port the military and the royal family of that coun¬ 
try are very large. 

-The old ideas of class still survive in Galicia, and 
the Polish noble looks upon commerce as degra¬ 
ding, just as his ancestors did in the days of Polish 
independence. The younger generations are prob¬ 
ably beginning to view business in a different light, 
as one can tell by many of the names over business 
places. Having a reasonable degree of freedom and 
local self-government, the Austrian Poles have 
never been as troublesome as those in either Russia 
or Prussia. They resent with indignation the treat¬ 
ment of their compatriots in those countries, but 
they are satisfied with their own condition, which 
seems so much better. 

From Cracow to Lemberg the land is better than 
on the other side of Cracow. The soil is fairly level, 
with no boundary fences, and the boundary lines 
are marked by stones. There will be a little patch 
of wheat, then another of oats, or some other grain. 



220 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


The sowing and reaping is generally done by hand, 
as the fields are heaped up in furrows so that har¬ 
vesting by machinery is almost impossible. 

Lemberg is the Lwow of Poland, which appears 
so frequently in her history. It is the largest town 
in the province of Galicia, and has a population of 
nearly one hundred and seventy-five thousand. One 
notices at once the nearness of Russia, for all signs 
will he seen in Russian and Polish, and frequently 
in German as well. One sees also the gilded domes 
of the Orthodox churches, for there are many ad¬ 
herents of this faith in Lemberg. Many Armenians 
also live in Lemberg, and an Armenian bishop re¬ 
sides in this city. But the Catholic Cathedral, 
founded in 1370 by Casimir the Great, is the most 
imposing religious edifice. Many, indeed, are the 
struggles which have here taken place for suprem¬ 
acy between the Orthodox and Catholic clergy. 

The rather imposing station of Lemberg is at one 
end of the city, and it is quite a long ride by car¬ 
riage to the centre of the town, which is built around 
a broad street parked in the centre. This is known 
as the Waly Hetmanski, and is ornamented with 
statues of the Hetman Jablonowski and John III 
Sobieski. There is also a theatre facing it, in which 
Polish and Polish-Italian operas are given each 
season. A part of the town is built on a rather im¬ 
posing hill which dominates the city on one side. 
The gray-backed crows seem as much at home as 



























Austria and Her Polish Subjects 221 

do the English sparrows in an American town. It 
is rather a handsome, modern-looking town, with 
fairly attractive stores. For centuries Lemberg 
was an important town, being one of the centres of 
Poland’s trade with the East, and for that reason 
drew the large numbers of Armenians who still 
swarm here. It is still on the line of trade between 
the East and West, for the main line of railroad 
leading to Moscow and the Black Sea, via Odessa, 
passes through here. But few travellers stop in 
Lemberg, fewer still than take the time for a day 
or two at Cracow. 

There is a large university in Lemberg, which 
claims some two or three thousand students. The 
Staropigiiski Institute is an institution devoted to 
the study of the Malo (Little) Russian language, 
and it has issued some very important works in that 
tongue. The Ossolinski Library is exceedingly rich 
in manuscripts and early printed Slavonic books. 
It has a collection of old engravings, antiquities, 
coins, etc. Many things interesting to the student 
of the Ukraine will be found in Lemberg. 

Jews are as thick in Lemberg as in Cracow, com¬ 
prising a quarter of the population, and they do not 
differ in appearance from those of the other city. 
They possess two splendid tabernacles, for many of 
the Jewish traders are wealthy. But the Ghetto 
proper is not an attractive place, as it is situated 
around the old market, and is permeated with the 



222 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


filth which usually accumulates around such a 
place. 

The nearness of Lemberg to Russia is shown by 
the inquiry for passports. 

“ Have you a passport? ” was asked me by my 
boniface. 

“ Yes,” I answered. 

“ What is the number? I must take down the 
number.” 

The same interest is shown on the German border. 
After leaving Russia at Alexandrovo, a German 
officer boarded the train at Thorn, the first station. 

44 Let me see your passport,” he asked. 

“ It is American,” I answered. 

“ But I must see it.” 

“ Is this Germany or Russia? ” I finally asked 
him. This angered the man with the shoulder- 
straps, and he let loose a lot of German faster than 
I could catch it. I finally produced the required 
document, and his anger was mollified somewhat. 
Nowhere else, either in Germany or Austria, was 
a request made for this little certificate of citizen¬ 
ship. 



CHAPTER XV 


BUSSIA AND HER POLISH SUBJECTS 


Kingdom of Poland — Peasants — Costumes — Irish and Poles — 
Russification policy •— Commercial prosperity — Lodz — Polish 
retaliation — Strikes — Socialism — Duma — Maria vites — Bor¬ 
der patrol — Smuggling — Passport system — Lithuania — Vilna. 

When one speaks of Russian Poland the refer¬ 
ence is generally confined to that part of the old 
“ republic 99 known as the Kingdom of Poland, 
which was established by the Treaty of Vienna in 
1815. According to that treaty this territory was 
to remain a separate state linked to the Russian 
Empire by a personal union of sovereigns. The 
“ Kingdom ” excludes the provinces bordering on 
the Baltic Sea, including Courland, the Lithuanian 
provinces, and the Ukraine, now known as Little 
Russia, which reached to the Black Sea. All of these 
provinces were included in Poland at the time of 
her greatest expansion. It also omits Kiev, and 
Smolensk, once important Polish cities, and Grodno, 
where every third Diet used to meet. 

The Kingdom of Poland includes forty-nine thou¬ 
sand square miles, and is as large as the states of 
Ohio and Connecticut combined. It is one of the 
richest grain-growing countries in Europe, and pov- 
223 


224 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


erty should be less evident. Every patch of the 
ground seems fertile, and ready to respond to the 
efforts of the agriculturalist. Thousands of head 
of cattle, horses and sheep are raised, and it is one 
of the principal sources of supply for meat to Rus¬ 
sia. Much wheat and rye are grown, for rye bread 
is a favourite article of food with the Slav. The 
enormous stacks of rye after a harvest look like 
ancient round towers with low and pointed roofs. 

The lands of the peasants and nobles can readily 
be distinguished. The fields of the nobles are 
fairly well cultivated, for they are able to employ 
improved machinery, while the land of the peasants 
is divided into narrow strips like they are all over 
Russia. Sometimes these diminutive strips may not 
be wider than eight or ten feet. They may be long, 
however, for it is easier to cultivate a patch in that 
shape. Thus one will find a narrow strip of oats or 
wheat next to an equally narrow strip of rye, flax 
or potatoes. At harvest time the peasants arm 
themselves with the old-fashioned scythes, which 
have been in use for generations, and cut their 
grain. In the olden days these scythes were the 
common weapons of war in peasant uprisings. The 
threshing is likewise done in the simplest and most 
primitive way. It is not surprising that the peas¬ 
ants find it difficult to maintain existence in this way, 
especially when an unfavourable season is sure to 
occur every few years. There are few gardens 




POLISH GIRLS AT WORK IN THE FIELD 







Russia and Her Polish Subjects 225 


among the peasant holdings, while fruit trees and 
roses are almost unknown. The homes of the 
nobles, on the contrary, sometimes have beautiful 
surroundings, and the manor house is attractively 
arranged. 

The landscape is flat, and the dull level is only 
broken by trees, churches, woods, or windmills. It 
is an almost uninterrupted view of horizontal fields. 
Between Warsaw and Vilna, and east of Warsaw 
in general, there is considerable forest, but west of 
that city the forests disappear. Between Warsaw 
and Alexandrovo the neatest buildings to be . seen 
are the railway stations, which resemble Italian 
villas with red Swiss roofs. The windmills with 
their great arms beating the air look decidedly pic¬ 
turesque. They are still used in grinding the grain 
for the peasants who bring it in their little wagons. 
Lofty wooden crosses stand in many of the fields. 
They are not crucifixes, but plain wooden crosses. 
If one decays and falls, it cannot be replaced with¬ 
out a government permit, and that must be obtained 
from St. Petersburg. The bureaus in the Russian 
capital are not noted for their promptness in grant¬ 
ing such requests. 

The old Polish costumes have disappeared, but 
distinctive costumes are still worn. Red or yellow 
with alternating green stripes are most common. 
The men wear baggy trousers made of the same 
material as the skirts of the women. In one dis- 



226 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


trict west of Warsaw, every peasant seemed to wear 
this costume almost without exception. Some were 
working in the fields, others walking or driving 
along the highway. The children looked like little 
grandfathers or grandmothers, being dressed in ex¬ 
actly the same style as their elders. Sometimes the 
red or yellow was darker or lighter, and occasionally 
the stripes were narrower or wider, but these com¬ 
binations were almost universal. The colour in 
costumes brightened up the rather dull monotony of 
the landscape. 

The Czar of Russia still bears the title King of 
Poland, but the Kingdom of Poland officially dis¬ 
appeared in 1868, when these provinces were incor¬ 
porated with the Russian Empire under the official 
designation of the Cis-Yistula governments. 1 These 
ten provinces have been as troublesome a thorn in 
the side of Russia as has been Ireland to Great 
Britain. There are likewise many points of simi¬ 
larity in the character of the two peoples, the Poles 
and the Irish. Each one is independent in thought 
and action, somewhat volatile in character, and with 
a gift of oratory which he delights to use. 

If Russia should grant to Poland a separate par¬ 
liament, similar to the Diet of Finland, much of the 
trouble would undoubtedly disappear. It would 
give a centre around which Polish nationality would 

/These are ten in number, and are designated as follows: Kalisz, 
Kielce, Lomza, Lublin, Piotkrow, Plock, Radom, Siedlce, Suwalki, 
and Warsaw. 




A PEASANT WOMAN, RUSSIAN POLAND 








Russia and Her Polish Subjects 227 


cluster. At the same time Russia is strong enough 
that she would not need to have any apprehension 
of Poland attempting to secede. There is even more 
reason for a separate Polish parliament than an 
Irish parliament, because of the difference in lan¬ 
guage and customs between the Poles and the Rus¬ 
sians. The only concession ever made to the Poles 
was in giving to the peasants some of the land of 
the nobles. But a quarter of the peasants are now 
absolutely landless. 

The general condition in Russian Poland is not 
good. Nine-tenths of the twelve millions, the esti¬ 
mated population in 1910, belong to the lower class, 
and only about one per cent, can be included in the 
aristocracy. About eight or nine millions are agri¬ 
culturalists. Almost eighty per cent, of the popula¬ 
tion are illiterate. Even in Warsaw, half of the 
adult population are almost absolutely without 
learning. That city has not school accommodation 
for more than half the children of school age, and 
in the rural districts the condition is much worse. 

A loyal Poland would be of inestimable benefit to 
Russia. The Polish-speaking part of that empire 
adjoins Germany and the Teuton. There is destined 
at some time, perhaps in the not distant future, to 
be a struggle for supremacy between the Teuton and 
the Slav, and in such an event Poland would be the 
buffer state, because of its situation. The Russifi¬ 
cation policy of attempting to displace the Polish 



228 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 

language with the Russian, and of denying to Poles 
the places of influence in the government and army, 
cannot have any other effect than an alienation 
from the ruling power. Russia once passed a law 
requiring all letters to be addressed in Russian 
characters, but the postal receipts fell off so much 
that she was obliged to abandon that attempt. 

Russia has, like Germany, made a systematic 
campaign against the Polish language. For a long 
time it was forbidden in all schools, but this policy 
has been somewhat relaxed. Even government rail¬ 
way servants were forbidden to use it in their 
duties. The censor would not permit the use of 
the word Polish in newspapers, but prescribed the 
word “ our.” All patriotic expressions and ap¬ 
peals to patriotism were forbidden. The harshness 
of the Russian censor has suppressed many Polish 
books, but it has simply encouraged the surrepti¬ 
tious circulation of revolutionary and other forbid¬ 
den literature written in the Polish language, for 
the people were determined to read in that tongue. 
Such actions have naturally made the Poles evasive, 
and have caused them to do many things in an un¬ 
derhand way. They violate all the restrictions when 
they can do so undetected. They frequently keep 
their children from school, because they want to 
shield them from Russian contamination. There 
are a number of Polish newspapers, — except in 
Lithuania and Little Russia, where they are for- 



Russia and Her Polish Subjects 229 


bidden, — but the actions of the censor generally 
make them practically colourless. One fear con¬ 
stantly faces the Poles, and that is that the Russian 
government may eventually compel all newspapers 
to print at least a part of their issues in the Russian 
language. 

In view of these conditions one can appreciate the 
definition of an idea given by a Polish child. 
“ What is an idea? ” a little girl was asked by 
her teacher. “ An idea,” said this wise little miss, 
“ is what is opposed to the government.” Her 
answer was probably nearer the truth than she 
thought. 

If the Pole goes to Moscow, he finds in the palace 
of the Kremlin a museum of objects sacred to him. 
There he will see twenty-two marble busts of the 
kings and distinguished men of his beloved country. 
The Polish throne is exhibited there, and the crown 
worn by her last king. Three score of battle-scarred 
and bullet-torn Polish banners are there kept. And, 
most opprobrious of all, the famous constitution of 
May 3rd, 1791, is preserved in a closed casket. 
Humiliating indeed it must be to the proud Pole 
to find these sacred insignia of his fatherland, and 
this instrument deeply impregnated with the idea 
of human liberty, here preserved as museum curios 
for the curiosity-loving public to gaze upon. It does 
not soften his feeling of resentment toward the 
Muscovite. 



230 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


In one respect Russian policy has resulted in an 
advantage to Poland. Russia has attempted to en¬ 
courage manufacturing by a liberal commercial pol¬ 
icy, and Poland has reaped the benefit. With the 
exception of the manufacturing district around 
Moscow, factories have increased more rapidly in 
Poland than in any other section of the empire. 
But wages are generally low, from thirty to fifty 
cents a day, the hours are long, and the sanitary 
conditions in factories are frequently bad. As rent 
is high in the cities one will frequently find a dozen 
people living in a single room to economize. 

The city of Lodz has grown in a quarter of a cen¬ 
tury from a comparatively small town to a city of 
four hundred thousand people by the influx of fac¬ 
tory hands. The growth of Warsaw also began with 
that same movement, and other Polish cities, such as 
Czenstochowa, have grown almost with American 
rapidity, until the urban population in Russian 
Poland is greater than that of any other section of 
Russia. It constitutes more than one quarter of the 
whole. Since the unfortunate revolution of 1863, 
when no fewer than fifty thousand Poles were either 
executed or exiled, the Poles have been more than 
willing to turn their energies into an effort to ac¬ 
quire wealth. Many of their brainiest people have 
engaged themselves in the practical lines of busi¬ 
ness, and this fact, aided by Jewish thrift, has re¬ 
sulted in the building up of many industries. But 



Russia and Her Polish Subjects 231 


industrial development and material wealth does not 
offset the effect of political bondage. 

The Russian government subjects the Polish peo¬ 
ple to many petty annoyances. It will not, for in¬ 
stance, permit the erection of a memorial to Kos- 
ciuszko, the Polish patriot honoured in both Poland 
and the United States. It is not always so savagely 
severe, but is constantly interfering in the private 
concerns of the people, worrying them with minute 
regulations, and subjecting them to many trifling 
formalities, which offend Polish susceptibilities. 
Russian passports must be secured whenever a Pole 
wishes to leave his province. The country is under 
a governor-general, who has absolute power of life 
and' death over the people, with far more power than 
similar officials in most parts of Russia. The cita¬ 
del of Warsaw, with its garrison of one hundred 
thousand or more, is designed rather to overawe the 
Poles than to defend the town from any foreign foe. 
It is no wonder that several hundred thousand Poles 
have migrated to the United States from Russia, so 
that they might secure a home in a land where every 
nationality is given the same privilege. 

“ We must picture to our selves,” says Mr. 
Brandes, “ a naturally very energetic people, 
against whose energy a barrier not to be broken 
down has been erected; a warlike people, who only 
reluctantly enter the army, in which practically no 
young man voluntarily chooses the post of officer; 



232 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


an extremely ambitious people, to whom all high 
positions and offices are closed; and to whom all 
distinctions and demonstrations of honour are for¬ 
bidden, in so far as they are not bought with sacri¬ 
fice of conviction or denial of solidarity with their 
countrymen; a people naturally hostile to Philis¬ 
tine ideals, but who needed to acquire the civic vir¬ 
tues, and whose circumstances now give them con¬ 
stant encouragement to unsteadiness; a people with 
a lively, irresistible inclination to politics, for whom 
all political education has been made impossible, 
because they are allowed neither to elect representa¬ 
tives nor to discuss affairs of state, and whose po¬ 
litical press is silenced in all political matters.” 

In retaliation for their treatment, the Poles do 
some very queer things. When general mourning 
was ordered for Alexander III, the people of War¬ 
saw tied bits of crape to the tails of their dogs. As 
the Polish colours of red and white are forbidden, 
they will fly the Danish flag, which is a white cross 
on a red ground, and can be folded so as to represent 
the Polish flag. At other times they will buy Rus¬ 
sian flags in which the blue is of a kind that will 
fade at once, thus leaving only red and white. The 
child sucks in hatred of Russia from its mother’s 
breast. 

Some of the trouble in Russian Poland in recent 
years has resulted from the antiquated labour laws 
of Russia. Strikes have always been considered in 



Russia and Her Polish Subjects 233 


the same light as an insurrection by Russia, and 
have been dealt with in the same way as a conspir¬ 
acy. Labour unions being forbidden, illegal secret 
societies have taken their places, and these naturally 
develop revolutionary tendencies. The Pole is not 
so submissive by nature as the Russian peasant, but 
even the worm will turn, as the Russians found out 
in the revolutionary disturbances which lasted from 
1905 to 1907. There were some riots against mobili¬ 
zation among the Poles and Polish Jews, during the 
Russo-Japanese war, but there were likewise riots 
in more purely Russian provinces. It was claimed 
that Polish and Jewish regiments were placed 
where the bulk of the loss would fall on them. It 
is not to be wondered at that socialism, or some 
form of socialistic organization, has increased in 
the Polish centres. The National League was or¬ 
ganized to keep patriotism alive. The conservative 
Poles have stuck to this organization, while the pro¬ 
gressives have favoured everything tending to in¬ 
dustrialism. Both Socialists and Nationalists are 
active revolutionists. 

When the revolution of 1905 was at its height, 
Warsaw was indeed a turbulent city. Pew police¬ 
men were to be seen, as so many had been shot. In 
one period of ten days twenty-seven policemen were 
killed. In retaliation the soldiers would fire down 
the streets, so that many innocent people were 
killed, while the perpetrators of these outrages es- 



234 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


caped unharmed. The people became hardened to 
bloodshed. Plots and counterplots were thick. A 
revolutionary body would sentence some hated offi¬ 
cial to death, and then an opportunity would be 
awaited to carry out the sentence. The greatest 
chances Were sometimes taken by the would-be as¬ 
sassins. These conditions in a greater or lesser 
degree lasted for more than two years, and it was 
during this time that the anti-Semite hatred broke 
out in many places. 

When Nicholas II came to the throne in 1894, 
the Poles, together with other classes in Russia, 
hoped for a more liberal government. Nicholas 
visited Warsaw soon after he was crowned. But 
the hopes of the oppressed subjects were not real¬ 
ized, for he soon showed himself reactionary. When 
the Duma was established in Russia in 1906, the 
Polish patriots again began to have dreams of better 
things. The czar expressed as his “ unalterable 
will 99 his intention to maintain the civil rights of 
“ inviolability of the person, freedom of belief, of 
speech, of organization, and meeting/’ Liberal 
franchise laws were drawn up. The Poles elected 
some of their best men to this representative body, 
among whom was Sienkiewicz, the favourite novel¬ 
ist of the Poles. There was a large element in the 
first Duma and its successor which favoured grant¬ 
ing autonomy to Poland, but the bureaucrats were 
alarmed at this tendency. According to their con- 



Russia and Her Polish Subjects 235 


ception the Muscovite must be supreme, and one 
ideal, the Muscovite ideal, must prevail over the 
whole country. After the dissolution of the first 
two Dumas, the number of Polish representatives 
was reduced; and the election laws were so changed 
that Poland’s representation in that body lost a 
great deal of its influence. 

Even more resentful is the Pole toward the Rus¬ 
sian because of the active propaganda to spread the 
Orthodox Church, and to convert the Polish peas¬ 
ants to the Orthodox faith. The only good Russian, 
in the eyes of that government, is the Orthodox 
Russian. It is simply the survival of a view that 
prevailed over all Europe at one time. Roman 
Catholic priests are not allowed to travel more than 
a few miles from home without special permission, 
and even then they are oftentimes compelled to re¬ 
sort to bribery. A priest cannot, under any cir¬ 
cumstances, visit or minister to the sick outside of 
his own parish. Anything approaching propaganda 
or proselyting is absolutely forbidden. The children 
of mixed marriages, where one of the parties is 
Orthodox, must be brought up in the latter faith. 
A church cannot be built or repaired without the 
consent of the resident bishop of the Orthodox 
Church. 

A peculiar situation has grown up through the 
organization of a religious sect known as the Maria- 
vites. This order was founded by Maria Franziska 




236 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


Kozlowska, a descendant of the Pulawski family, in 
1893. It was first established a few years earlier at 
Plock as an order for women. Hence came the 
name Mariae vita, the life of Mary, for the Virgin 
was taken as the guide. Madam Kozlowska then 
claimed to have received a direct revelation from 
God, commanding her to form a society for priests 
who would live according to the Franciscan rules. 
They must preach “ adoration of the Son of Man, 
and invocation of the Mother of God.” Frequent 
confession and partaking of the communion are 
prescribed. It was really an attempt to revive the 
Roman Catholic Church from within. 

A number of Roman priests joined the new move¬ 
ment, and controversies soon arose with the heads 
of the Church. Among those who joined the new 
movement was a priest named Johann Kowalski. An 
appeal to Rome was made. The Mariavites were 
denounced in a papal encyclical, and both Kowalski 
and the founder excommunicated. Kowalski was 
consecrated a bishop by a seceding Roman bishop, 
and is now the head of the Church. The priests 
wear a light gray habit. They must be vegetarians, 
and the use of neither tobacco nor alcohol is al¬ 
lowed. No pictures or statues of saints, except 
Mary, Mother of Christ, are allowed in their edifices. 
They deny the real presence of Christ in sacrament. 

There are at least two hundred thousand adher¬ 
ents of the Mariavites in Russia. They are espe- 





RUSSIAN SOLDIERS 













Russia and Her Polish Subjects 237 

cially strong in Warsaw, Lodz, and Zgirz. Serious 
trouble has occasionally arisen in which a number 
have been killed. The people sometimes bleat like 
goats when the Mariavites appear. In some cases 
whole congregations have gone over, and legal en¬ 
tanglements have arisen over church property. 
The Catholics accuse the Holy Synod of the Russian 
Orthodox Church with financing the Mariavite 
movement, for the latter seems to be well provided 
with funds. The charge appears to me to be well 
founded. Whether it is true or not, the belief has 
intensified the bitter feeling towards the Russians. 

The boundary line between Russia and her neigh¬ 
bours, especially Germany and Austria, is closely 
guarded. “ The soldiers are so thick/ ’ said a Jew, 
“ that I wonder they do not shoot one another by 
mistake/ ’ One or more heavily armed pickets will 
be found close to the border in every kilometer, and 
a couple of miles behind there is generally another 
cordon of patrols. These men do not hesitate to 
shoot at any one who fails or neglects to obey a 
command to halt. Every road crossing the border 
is obstructed by a heavy chain, which is removed 
only after baggage has been searched and passports 
examined. If the person seeking to cross is a Pole 
or a Jew, his whole person is searched, for fear 
something contraband may be concealed. And yet, 
in spite of all this precaution, a regular contraband 
trade in merchandise and persons without passports 



238 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


is carried on. They are floated up or down the 
rivers, or are taken across at convenient places. 
Many Jews are engaged in this business. There is 
an element of risk, of course, for a bullet sometimes 
finds its mark, but the Jew smuggler knows the 
power of the rouble and the susceptibility of the 
underpaid Russian. 

Passports are required everywhere in Russia. A 
Russian who wishes to visit a neighbouring prov¬ 
ince on business or pleasure must provide himself 
with a domestic passport. If he wishes to leave the 
country, he must secure a foreign passport. Imag¬ 
ine a New Yorker being obliged to carry a passport 
if he wished to cross over to Jersey City. As soon 
as a traveller engages a room in a hotel he must 
deliver up his passport to a hotel servant. It is 
then taken to the police headquarters, where it is 
registered. At the border he cannot leave the sta¬ 
tion until it has been examined and approved. It 
seemed to me an easy matter, however, for decep¬ 
tion to be used. Absolutely no attempt was made 
to see whether the holder of the passport was the 
one to whom it had been issued — to identify the 
holder with the description on the document. The 
officials have so many submitted to them for inspec¬ 
tion that minute examination is probably impossi¬ 
ble. For that reason, also, the procuring of forged 
or false passports is a recognized and flourishing 
business. 



Russia and Her Polish Subjects 239 

Lithuania is governed by special statutes. There 
is evident a still more determined effort to stamp 
out everything tinged with Polonism. Not only are 
Polish newspapers forbidden, but the speaking of 
Polish is interdicted. Hence many Lithuanians en¬ 
joy a visit to Warsaw occasionally, so that they can 
exercise their knowledge of Polish on the streets. 
Present Lithuania, which includes the governments 
of Vilna, Grodno, Vitebsk, Mohilev, and Minsk, is 
generally known as White Russia. It is not a very 
prosperous looking country. It is a land where man 
has not yet subdued nature entirely. There is much 
marshy and forest land. Although conditions have 
improved considerably since the abolishment of 
serfage, it is not yet as prosperous as some of these 
provinces farther south. The groups in the villages 
are rather squalid and dirty, and there is a great 
deal of the appearance of blight and impoverish¬ 
ment. It is especially noticeable to one just arri¬ 
ving from Germany or Austria, because of the con¬ 
trast in both landscape and the appearance of the 
people. 

Serfage in Lithuania was harder than in either 
Great or Little Russia. Elsewhere there was at 
least a common religious bond. Here the landlords 
were mostly Polish Catholics, alien in at least re¬ 
ligion. The nobles spent their time in Warsaw or 
Cracow in luxury, while most likely a severe Ger¬ 
man taskmaster was left in charge of the estate. 



240 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


Sometimes the steward was a Jew, but that meant 
no improvement. The Polish nobles held themselves 
superior, not only in social standing, but also of a 
different flesh and blood. It is little wonder that 
the peasantry did not develop a high standard of 
either honesty, cleanliness, or temperance. The 
Lithuanians are usually fairly tall men, blue-eyed 
and fair of feature. In their capacity for drink they 
will not yield to any other people of modern Russia. 
In the towns Jews congregated in large numbers the 
same as they did in Poland, for they enjoyed not 
only comparative favour but immunity from the 
oppression cast upon them by other nations. 

Vilna, which was the centre of most of the great 
events in Lithuanian history, is still a place of con¬ 
siderable importance, though visited by few travel¬ 
lers. It was founded by Gedimin in 1322. The city 
is built at the junction of the Vilna and Vilayka 
rivers. It is the point of divergence for the two 
railway routes between St. Petersburg and Berlin, 
one via Warsaw, and the other via Konigsburg. It 
is now a city approaching two hundred thousand 
inhabitants, of whom probably one-third are Jews. 
This race has most of the trade in their hands. The 
city is located in a pretty valley, with gentle hills 
rising in every direction. A fine view of the coun¬ 
try is afforded by a ruined tower of the former 
palace of the Grand Dukes on a hill that overlooks 
the town. Here it was that the old Lithuanian 




HOLY GATEWAY, VILNA 























































Russia and Her Polish Subjects 241 

heroes worshipped. On this hill the sacred fire was 
ever kept burning in a temple built at the founding 
of the city, so long as the heathen worship was 
followed. 

The “ Grand Army ” of Napoleon passed through 
Vilna in 1812. For a moment it was thought that 
the ancient grandeur of the kingdom would return. 
Napoleon entered the city in triumph. The nobility 
crowded around him with enthusiasm, and the res¬ 
toration of the old Lithuanian state was pro¬ 
claimed. But this was before Moscow and the 
events succeeding. A few months later the rem¬ 
nants of the ‘‘ Grand Army ’ ’ again passed through 
the gates of the city. 

Near this city there is a stone, on one side of 
which is this inscription: “ Napoleon Bonaparte 
passed this way in 1812 with 400,000 men. ’’ On the 
other side is this inscription: “ Napoleon Bona¬ 
parte passed this way in 1812 with 9,000 men.” A 
terrible tragedy is revealed by these two inscrip¬ 
tions. 

As my droshki was driven toward the hotel, we 
passed under a very holy gateway before which 
scores of peasants were kneeling. Not knowing the 
sacredness of the place, I did not remove my hat 
until the carriage was almost stopped by the out¬ 
raged worshippers. The driver looked around and 
motioned towards my hat, and a gentleman with me 
took it off for me. I had been absorbed in watching 



242 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


the crowd, and the lack of courtesy was not inten¬ 
tional on my part; but the ignorant people did not 
understand this. It is an illustration of the fact 
that the Lithuanians of to-day are as much devoted 
to their new faith as they were loth to give up the 
old. 

Yilna to-day is one of the most interesting cities 
in former Poland, for one who wants to study the 
old. The architecture of a previous age and the 
antiquated characteristics still prevail. Most of 
the town has not been changed. The architecture is 
quaint and almost mediaeval. The streets are nar¬ 
row and winding, and the stores are very much 
behind the times. Street cars drawn by horses still 
rattle over the stony streets. For that reason it is 
not very cleanly. But one day during my visit the 
rain fell in torrents, until the narrow streets, being 
unaided by sewers, were three or four inches deep 
with running water. It was harder than any trop¬ 
ical rain that I have ever seen, and seemed almost 
like the cloudburst that one sometimes reads about. 
The atmosphere was noticeably better after this 
thorough flushing. 

The Jewish quarter is as dirty and bad as in any 
city within the ancient Poland. The inhabitants 
have the same slouching gait, wear the same long 
coat, and live by the same sharp dealing as they do 
in Warsaw. The Lithuanian population are very 
unprogressive, and not very attractive. On a holi- 



Russia and Her Polish Subjects 243 

day that I passed in Vilna, all the population seemed 
to turn out in the little park. Among the peasants 
was one girl of Little Russia in her bright costume. 
I could not help noticing how much brighter and 
comelier she looked than the companions with her. 

Vilna had at one time quite a celebrated univer¬ 
sity, which was founded as a Jesuit college, in 1578, 
by Stephen Batory. This institution was sup¬ 
pressed about a century ago, and the great library 
removed to St. Petersburg. With the university 
seemed to go the learning and literature for which 
the city was at one time noted. 



CHAPTER XVI 


THE NOBLES 

A wedding — Improvidence — Palatines and castellans — The Pans 
— A noble’s retinue — Wealth — Elaborate entertainments — 
Retainers and courtiers — Sports — Banquets — Drinking — Bar¬ 
baric display — Genealogies — Patriarchal government — Hospi¬ 
tality — Women. 

“ You came to Cracow at an opportune time,” 
said the English-speaking porter at the Grand 
Hotel. ‘ ‘ There is to be a wedding at the old cathe¬ 
dral in the Wawel, which will unite two of the old¬ 
est families in Poland.” 

The porter was right, for this wedding brought 
to Cracow almost a hundred representatives of the 
Polish aristocracy from Austria and Russia. Many 
of them brought their personal servants along, and 
coachmen and footmen as well, clothed in elaborate 
livery. Some of these nobles were descendants of 
the old families of the palatines, families that have 
been prominent for four or five centuries. The dif¬ 
ference between the nobles and the peasants was 
easy to be seen, as the former are tall, finely formed, 
but rather slender types of manhood and woman¬ 
hood, while the peasants are usually short and 
rather stocky in their build. Nature was certainly 
kind to these Poles in a physical sense. They like 
244 


The Nobles 


245 


good living, which to them means both good eating 
and good drinking. 

There is still the air of the grand seigneur about 
the nobles, and the air of aristocracy was most 
noticeable. It is doubtful whether they have be¬ 
come any more provident or economical than their, 
ancestors were during the days of independence. 
For centuries they have nourished an inherited aris¬ 
tocratic contempt for the merchant and manufac¬ 
turer. The doctrine of loving work for its own sake 
has scarcely penetrated the Polish aristocrats to 
this day. They have had the desire to enjoy life 
and not to earn bread; to live lavishly and care¬ 
lessly. No one works unless it is absolutely neces¬ 
sary, and many who should work, do not. Several 
of the ladies of the wedding party were gifted with 
the beauty for which Polish women of the upper 
classes are noted. Some were blondes, with a won¬ 
derful clearness of complexion, while others ap¬ 
proached the brunette type. Most of these repre¬ 
sentatives of the aristocracy stopped at the same 
hotel, and all of the wedding festivities took place 
there, including a dance, reception, and a wedding 
feast. A cardinal and two bishops took part in the 
ceremony, which added dignity and solemnity to 
the occasion. 

Even up to the time of the disappearance of 
Poland from among the nations as a separate king¬ 
dom, the nobles retained their ancient power. Each 



246 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


one whose wealth permitted it maintained about 
him an army of retainers. According to the Polish 
laws a noble was a person possessed of a freehold 
estate, or one who could prove his descent from 
ancestors possessing a freehold, who followed no 
trade, and could choose his own place of residence. 
There were exceptions, however, for Sobieski en¬ 
nobled all his cavalry after the victory of Vienna. 
All of these nobles were equal by birth, and the 
laws expressly stipulated that titles gave no prece¬ 
dence. Practically the only exceptions to this rule 
were a few Lithuanian princes who retained their 
titles after the union of the two kingdoms. Even 
royal decorations never stood in high favour among 
the Poles, and they were not introduced until the 
days of the Saxon kings. 

The highest in rank were the palatines, who were 
governors of the palatinates, and next to them were 
the castellans, who ruled over provinces. All of 
these dignitaries held office for life. The castellans 
were further divided into the greater and the lesser, 
according to the dignity of their provinces. They 
were at the head of the nobles in their provinces 
when assembled for election or war. They had the 
right of fixing the price of produce, and of regu¬ 
lating the weights and measures in their bailiwicks. 
All of these officials had seats in the Diet. The ad¬ 
ministration of justice practically lay in their hands, 
for which they had their own courts. Disputes con- 



The Nobles 


247 


cerning property inheritance and high treason were 
the only questions that had to be carried before the 
royal court. Those holding political offices were 
called panowie, or the “ Pans,” and they formed a 
sort of office-holding class. The nobility, who dis¬ 
charged the duties of no office, were called the 
szlachta. Many of these were very poor, and they 
became the hangers-on of the more powerful nobles. 
They were obliged to vote in the Diet as they were 
ordered by their patrons. 

The growth of the power of the nobility dates 
from the earliest days of Poland. In 1496 the final 
blow to the plebeians came when a law was passed 
forbidding them to own land. The peasants then 
became serfs, and finally they were not even al¬ 
lowed to travel from one place to another without 
a passport issued by the noble landlord. Those 
without passports were considered fugitives and 
vagabonds. Many shameful abuses of the power of 
the nobles are recorded in Polish history and by 
contemporary writers. 

The degradation of a stalwart peasantry is one of 
the darkest blots on Polish history, even though it 
was a common condition of that age. In a sense it 
was worse than that of the Russian peasants, for 
they had the Mir, the village commune, which gave 
them a certain feeling of independence. But the 
nobles demanded such a high degree of liberty for 
themselves that they should have been fairer to 



248 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


those under them. If a peasant owned a horse and 
a couple of cows he was extremely fortunate. It is 
no wonder that the peasants failed to smile, while 
their lords devoted all their time to pleasure. So 
long as they raised sufficient from their estates to 
support themselves in luxury, the nobles were in¬ 
different not only to their serfs but to their country 
as well. A man, though born of noble rank, who 
engaged in any commercial transaction, immedi¬ 
ately lost his caste. As many of the families of the 
nobles, through their dissipation and recklessness, 
lost their estates, they attached themselves to the 
retinue of the more fortunate ones, rather than 
engage in any menial occupation. As a result the 
richer nobles frequently had about them a small 
army of retainers, each of whom was a noble by his 
own right. 

The “ Journal of the Countess Francoise Krasin- 
ska,” 1 who afterwards married a son of Augustus 
III, written between the years 1759 and 1761, is a 
most interesting picture of Polish life. “ There are 
two classes of courtiers,” she writes in describing 
her own home, “ the honorary and the salaried 
ones, all alike nobles, with the sword at their side. 
The first are about twenty in number; their duties 
are to wait in the morning for the Count’s (her 
father) entrance, to be ready for any service he 
may require, to accompany him when visiting or 
1 A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago. 



The Nobles 


249 


riding, to defend him in case of need, to give him 
their voice at the Diet, and to play cards and amuse 
him and his guests. This last duty is best per¬ 
formed by our Matenko, the fool or court jester, as 
the other courtiers call him. Of all the courtiers 
he is the most privileged, being allowed to speak 
whenever he chooses and to tell the truth frankly. 

. . . The honorary courtiers receive no pay, al¬ 
most all of them being the sons and daughters of 
rather wealthy parents, who send them to our castle 
for training in courtly etiquette. The men receive, 
nevertheless, provisions for two horses, and two 
florins (about 40 cents) weekly for their valets. 
These servants are dressed, some as Cossacks, some 
as Hungarians, and stand behind their masters’ 
chairs at meals. There is no special table for them, 
hut they must be satisfied with what their masters 
leave upon their plates, and you should see how they 
follow with a covetous eye, each morsel on the way 
from the plate to the master’s mouth! I do not dare 
to look at them, partly from fear of laughing, and 
partly out of pity. ... To tell the truth, those who 
sit at our table have more honour than profit, for 
they do not always have the same kind of food that 
we have, although it comes from the same dish. For 
instance, when the meats are brought in, there will 
he on the dish game or domestic fowl on the top, 
and plain roast beef, or roast pork, underneath. . . . 
The salaried courtiers are much more numerous. 



250 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


They do not come to our table, except the chaplain, 
the physician, and the secretary. . . . As for other 
people belonging to our retinue, it would be difficult 
to enumerate them; I am sure I do not know how 
many there are of musicians, cooks, link-boys, Cos¬ 
sacks, hostlers, valets, chamberlains, and boy and 
girl servants. I know only there are five different 
dinner tables, and two stewards are busy from 
morning till night, giving out provisions for the 
meals.” 

Most of the Polish magnates spoke of their estab¬ 
lishments as a “ court,” in the same way that roy¬ 
alty does. Some of these courts really outshone 
that of Polish royalty itself, as some of the mon- 
archs were not wealthy. These nobles had their 
treasurer, who looked after the general expense of 
the house; their cupbearer, who looked after the 
maintenance of the cellars; their equerry, who 
had charge of the stables; their chamberlain, and 
various other officials. The noble was in reality 
an independent potentate on his own estate, even 
if he had no political position. The adjection of 
these noblemen to his retinue gave the potentate 
added influence, for it gave him augmented strength. 
Some of them were known to keep rebellious serv¬ 
ants in chains for years, although many of them 
were extremely generous and kind to their menials. 
The wives of the nobles likewise had their estab¬ 
lishments, at the head of which stood the lady cham- 



The Nobles 


251 


berlain. They had a whole troop of lady servitors, 
and a court of so-called “ ladies of honour.’’ These 
latter were women of high birth but little money, 
generally relatives, who lived practically as mem¬ 
bers of the family. One or more was within call at 
times to dress or undress her ladyship, and perform 
any personal service demanded. 

All the courtiers wore swords, and none were re¬ 
quired to do any menial service. These men occu¬ 
pied a position intermediate between that of sal¬ 
aried officials and comrades. Attired in the fanciful 
costume of that period, they added to the glory of 
the rich man’s retinue, and certainly swelled his 
sense of personal pride. As a noble was the only 
person under the Polish law who was entitled to 
wear a sword, it is said that occasionally one might 
find a man dressed in the very poorest of garments, 
following a plow or herding a flock of sheep, who 
proudly wore a sword by his side. Furthermore, as 
most of the nobles knew how to use the sword, it is 
not surprising to learn that the punishment for 
murder was trivial, and was only punished by a fine. 
The fines ranged from about sixty dollars for a 
peasant to six times that amount for a nobleman. 
This law setting a pecuniary value to human life 
continued down nearly to the time of the first par¬ 
tition. 

The wealth of these nobles was as great as the 
poverty of the poor peasants was extreme. But 



252 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


wealth was only a means to an end, and that end 
was to make life itself a great festival. The pala¬ 
tine of Borsk had erected in his park ornate pavil¬ 
ions dedicated to Life, Death, Wedlock, Friendship, 
and other abstract personifications. At Solec a 
noble had contrived underground grottoes on his 
estate where colonies of apes were shown on arti¬ 
ficial islands. Some of the pictures which we read 
in descriptions of life in Poland in the sixteenth and 
seventeenth centuries, the time of the decadence of 
the country, are almost unbelievable. When one 
noble visited another, he took with him a retinue 
equal to that of a king in the Middle Ages. Very 
often they carried with them all of their own beds 
and bedding, and even table-ware. 

One writer of that period, Hauteville, tells us that 
after all the guests have come, the gates are shut, 
and they are not opened again till the banquet is 
over and all the plate has been found. “ If they 
did not use this precaution, ’’ he says, “ the foot¬ 
men would steal part of it. Those who are invited 
to the feast bring their footmen with them, and as 
soon as they are seated at the table, every one of 
them cuts off one-half of his bread, which he gives 
with a plate full of meat to his servant, who, after 
he has shared it with his comrade, stands behind his 
master and eats it.” We read of one prince who 
set forth on official business having some hundreds 
of horsemen as a personal escort, and carrying 



The Nobles 


253 


with him thirty large wagons loaded with provi¬ 
sions. 

Elaborate entertainments in the courts of Europe 
were common in the eighteenth century, but in Po¬ 
land they outdid those of other countries. Mr. Bain, 
in his “ Last King of Poland,” recites the instance 
of the entertainment of King Stanislaus in 1782 by 
the Pani Oginska, at her palace Alexandrowna. 
Whenever the king took a walk about the grounds, 
nymphs and goddesses in dresses suited to those 
characters would appear before him among the little 
islands on the river, and recite verses in his honour. 
A company of Chinese merchants on Arabian mules 
stopped his carriage and offered him pineapples and 
other products of the Orient. After lunch he was 
conducted to a grotto, where the village maidens 
welcomed him with rustic melodies. While the king 
stood near a little mill by an artificial cascade, ad¬ 
miring the scene and conversing with his hostess, a 
beautiful state barge came around the bend of the 
river laden with wine and confections. At a little 
theatre, built expressly for the occasion, entertain¬ 
ment was provided. For an evening entertainment 
the peasants were dressed up as shepherds and 
shepherdesses in picturesque costumes. Gypsies 
were provided who foretold the future of the king 
by their various artifices. An exciting race between 
a one-legged Italian buffoon and a tortoise provided 
a diversion. As a climax the king was presented 



254 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


with a rhinoceros and a leopard. Thus it was with 
such semi-Oriental and almost barbaric pastimes 
that the high society of Poland amused itself and its 
monarch, while the throne was tottering on its very 
last legs. 

It was really a point of honour among the nobles 
to make their parades as imposing as possible. 
When he attended the local Diet, a great noble 
would take his ‘ ‘ court ’ ’ with him, and the occasion 
was made a notable affair characterized by princely 
hospitality. A palatine would usually ride in the 
middle of his retinue, placing the best clothed of his 
servants before him. Some were Cossacks and 
dressed in that costume, while others looked like 
Magyars, arrayed in gorgeous Turkish attire and 
carrying Turkish daggers. A few of the nobles 
maintained regiments of huzzars, who wore carmine 
uniforms and semi-visored helmets. All carried 
long lances of light wood with a small streamer 
attached, and with sharp steel points, which made 
an imposing appearance on the march or parade, 
but were of little use in actual warfare. They car¬ 
ried two pistols and two swords, one of which hung 
from the saddle. It was a point of honour among 
these nobles to maintain as many of these retain¬ 
ers as possible. They formed a sort of militia, 
who were supposed to be at the service of the 
state. 

The whole scheme of life had a great deal of the 




The Nobles 


255 


barbarous in its elaborate display, but was decidedly 
picturesque. The nobles likewise shaved their 
heads after the Tartar fashion, leaving a little tuft 
on the crown. They delighted in athletic sports and 
the chase, and the forests furnished a plentiful sup¬ 
ply of bear and the wild boar. On many occasions 
wild animals, such as bear, deer, wolves and wild 
boar, were captured and then let loose in the forests 
of the nobles to furnish sport for their guests. 
Hunts of this character were held almost on the edge 
of Warsaw itself. 

The decline of Poland was undoubtedly due to this 
personal pride and arrogance of the nobles, for the 
power to settle all their affairs themselves caused 
them to lose all patriotic feeling. They preferred 
to build up a personal following, rather than aid in 
strengthening the nation. The intellectual attain¬ 
ments of many of the nobles did not compare with 
their accomplishments in other lines. Many of the 
young nobles were allowed to grow up in the great¬ 
est ignorance; especially was this true of Lithuania. 
They considered the study of letters very tame when 
compared with the livelier diversions offered by life 
in those days. 

The art of catering to the physical wants had 
reached its highest degree in Poland. The banquets 
which were served by the Polish nobles were pre¬ 
pared by cooks who thoroughly understood the art. 
Deer and wild boar used to be roasted whole, stuffed 



256 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


with ham and sausage, and served thus on the mam¬ 
moth tables. Large cakes filled with all kinds of 
fruit were prepared with great skill. There was 
always an abundance of liquors. In fact, it is said 
that the popularity of a noble was based to a great 
extent upon his capacity for drink. 

Hard drinking seemed to be looked upon rather 
as a virtue than a vice. It was one of the distin¬ 
guished marks of a Polish gentleman. “ Both in 
town and country/’ says Mr. Bain, “ every male 
visitor on his arrival was welcomed with a stirrup- 
cup of generous dimensions. If he drained it off 
at one draught he won general approval, while if 
he followed it up by drinking a gallon of old Hun¬ 
garian before dessert his fame was secured. At the 
house of Sapieha there was a very famous beaker 
renowned as a work of art, but still more so from 
the fact that Augustus II and Peter the Great had 
successively drained it to the dregs in each other's 
honour. It was religiously preserved in a magnif¬ 
icent cupboard especially made to house it, and was 
never brought forth except with the accompaniment 
of drums and trumpets." One noble, who could 
empty a bucket of champagne at a draught, without 
losing his head or feet, was the envy and admiration 
of his associates. 

There are still preserved a number of historic 
drinking-cups, which it is said some of the nobles 
could drain at a single draught. Either the liquors 



The Nobles 


257 


of that day were not so strong as those of the pres¬ 
ent age, or else the capacity of the modern man is 
less than his progenitors, for it is a feat that could 
not be accomplished at this day. A sick man was 
allowed to have a substitute to drink his toasts for 
him. As a result of the bacchanalian debauches 
which characterized the feasts among the Polish 
nobles, the ending was not always peaceable. Hence 
we read of many broken noses, and maimings in 
sword contests, which followed these feasts. Alto¬ 
gether it is not a very pleasing picture, judged by 
modern standards, which one can paint of these old 
Polish nobles. Many of the nobles literally ate and 
drank up their estates. It was no uncommon thing 
for a noble to pledge a town to pay for a single 
banquet. 

The love of display was also very marked among 
the Polish nobles. They were never seen without 
a sword at their side, and all of their retainers were 
dressed in characteristic uniform, with the arms of 
the master embossed on the handles of the swords 
and' in the silver sheaths. The saddles were often¬ 
times encrusted with gems. In the homes the same 
gorgeousness prevailed, and the splendour of the 
furnishings was only limited by the purse of the 
owner. The Polish costume displayed the same 
elaborateness and luxury. Wonderful sashes with 
gold and silver embroidery were wrapped several 
times around the waist. Polish knights went into 



258 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


battle with real ostrich plumes on their saddles, and 
large wings on their cuirasses. 

It is true that the nobles had their good traits, for 
the love of kindred and family affection was unusu¬ 
ally strong. Genealogies and family trees were 
carefully preserved, and family ties were main¬ 
tained even among those remotely connected. A 
cousin of the third or fourth degree was looked upon 
as belonging to the immediate family. Children 
were taught their pedigrees almost as religiously as 
the catechism. “ I can recite the genealogy of the 
Krasinskis and the history of each of them as per¬ 
fectly as my morning prayer,’’ says the Countess 
Krasinska, “ and I think that I should have more 
difficulty in telling the names of our Polish kings in 
chronological order than in telling those of my an¬ 
cestors.” 

A knowledge of family ties was almost necessary, 
as nothing worth while could be obtained unless the 
applicant could trace his genealogy through about 
sixteen generations. The family genealogical tree 
is still carefully preserved, and a Polish aristocrat 
will claim to trace his family back almost to the time 
of the flood. He also makes it a point to be informed 
about the genealogy of his neighbours, and this can 
be done by reference to the published “ blue books.” 
The nobles had in general the virtues of primitive 
society. They were manly, generous, straightfor¬ 
ward, and outspoken. The men were affectionate 



The Nobles 


259 


husbands and indulgent fathers. They delighted in 
field sports and the chase. The reverence shown by 
children towards their parents was very great, and 
a son would not think of sitting down in the pres¬ 
ence of his father or mother until invited to do so. 

The patriarchal form of government still survives 
in the Polish family, and this filial respect is still 
characteristic of the young Polish aristocrats. A 
young man or woman would hesitate to sit down on 
an easy chair or couch, no matter how weary he 
might be, if there were older people in the room, 
unless an invitation was given. Children salute the 
parents by kissing them on the hand or coat-sleeve 
rather than the mouth. This latter form of saluta¬ 
tion is still a common form of greeting and act of 
homage by the peasant to his landlord. It is de¬ 
lightful to see the grace with which a Polish gentle¬ 
man will kiss the hand of a lady. It is done with the 
air of a real courtier. So close was the family con¬ 
nection maintained in the olden days that it gave 
rise to many conflicts, which reached almost the 
proportion of a civil war. An insult or slight to 
a member of the family was taken up by every mem¬ 
ber of the connection, and this involved hundreds of 
relatives, who perhaps had under them thousands 
of serfs. For the same reason, if a powerful family 
chose to unite together for political purposes, it was 
almost irresistible, unless opposed by an equally 
influential family. 



260 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


The nobles were likewise peculiarly susceptible to 
religious impressions. Some of the most dissolute 
scrupulously observed all the prescribed ceremonies 
of the Church. They would fast on Saturdays, even 
flog themselves on Good Friday, and tell their beads 
over and over again. Sunday morning all attended 
services. On Sunday afternoon, however, the re¬ 
laxation began, and continued until the next Satur¬ 
day. One of the most dissolute, who used to suffer 
terribly from the qualms of his conscience, had a 
chaplain who shared his bedroom, in order to be 
ready at a moment’s notice to exorcise the evil 
spirits and stifle the prickings of that disturbing 
censor. 

Some of the Polish estates of to-day are very 
large. The Count Zamoiski owns four hundred 
thousand acres, a little principality in itself. Al¬ 
most everything used is raised on the estate, and 
life is still lived on the patriarchal principle. Bus- 
sian Poland is one of the richest grain-growing sec¬ 
tions of Europe, and many of the Polish nobles still 
live in the greatest luxury. A host of servants are 
still maintained, and the houses are very spacious. 
The approach is generally through a long avenue of 
trees, probably limes, and the house is generally 
long, low and rambling — a red-tiled palace of one 
story with walls of white stucco. There is sure to 
be a little chapel with an altar before which a candle 
is usually kept burning. Many maintain fish-ponds, 





POLISH NOBLE S HOME 













The Nobles 


261 


which supply the finny tribe for the table. A nest 
of storks will generally be found, for these birds 
are looked upon as a good omen. Even the men are 
supplied with elaborate wardrobes, two or three 
dozen costumes, and they take as much care with 
their toilets as the ladies. 

Polish hospitality is open and sincere. Tactful¬ 
ness as a host seems to be an inborn quality and a 
deep-seated instinct. The people like company, and 
they love entertainment. Perhaps no people in the 
world are so fond of dancing, and they prolong their 
dances throughout the entire night, with several 
lunches and plenty of liquors served in the mean¬ 
time. The polonaise and the mazurka, with its con¬ 
trast of feminine gentleness and masculine force, 
were Polish inventions. The real Polish mazurka , 
however, is quite different from the dance that goes 
by that name in other parts of Europe and in Amer¬ 
ica. It is forbidden in Eussia to dance this dance 
in the national costume, as they delight to do. It 
takes a vigorous man to stand all the liquors that are 
provided by a Polish host. The gay season extends 
from a short time preceding Christmas until the 
beginning of Lent. They dance all through the car¬ 
nival time as no other people do, and charity balls 
are probably more numerous among them than any 
other people. 

The carnival season rivals that of Italy and 
France. The people flock to the cities, which are 



262 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 

the recognized centres of the carnival spirit. Moth¬ 
ers with marriageable daughters and eligible young 
men looking for wives flock there also, and many 
are the engagements that follow and furnish food 
for gossip during the lenten period. Easter is a 
great holiday, and another period of gaiety follows 
that great day. It is even a more important day 
with these people than Christmas, and preparations 
for it are begun weeks beforehand. 

Woman occupies a place of unusual prominence 
in Poland. Some place her as superior to man in 
practically every way. ‘ ‘ The men in Poland, ’ 9 says 
Mr. Brandes, “ are not wanting in passion, in cour¬ 
age, and in energy, in wit, in love of freedom, but 
it seems as if the women have more of these quali¬ 
ties.” “ If the Polish eagle has never yet been 
tamed,” writes Mr. Van Norman, “ if it refuses to 
become domesticated, it is because the Polish 
women have nursed it and kept before it the scent 
of the upper air and the love of liberty. While there 
is a single Polish woman living, it is truly Jeszcze 
Polska nie Zginela — Poland is not yet lost.” In 
the various conspiracies, and in the revolutions 
against Russia, Polish women have had an impor¬ 
tant part. Many have given up all their worldly 
goods in the cause of their country, while others 
have fought on the field of battle and lost their lives 
in the same cause. Still others have gone into exile 
without a murmur. They are capable of any sacri- 



The Nobles 


263 


fice for patriotism, and they prove their sincerity 
by their actions. The women are still the most 
zealous patriots, and it is due to them more than 
the other sex that patriotic feeling is still so in¬ 
tense. 

The Polish women have always been noted for 
their beauty, and the perfect shape of their hands 
and feet. They take part in all the social affairs, 
and no festivity is complete without their presence. 
They are extremely good linguists, and nearly all 
speak two or three languages. I met one young 
lady in Warsaw of nineteen or twenty summers, just 
out of school, who spoke Russian, German, French, 
and English almost as fluently as her native Polish. 
This is not an uncommon accomplishment. 

The women do not enjoy the social freedom of 
the American girls, as the chaperone is still a neces¬ 
sity to protect the good name of a girl. They are 
never left unprotected for a moment. Marriages 
are made in much the same manner as in France, 
and the contracting parties frequently know little 
about each other before they are joined for better 
or worse. “ The will of my honoured parents has 
ever been a sacred law to me,” says the Polish girl 
with resignation. When a messenger came with a 
proposal of marriage, if a goose was served with 
dark gravy at dinner, or a pumpkin was put in the 
carriage as he was leaving, this meant that the offer 
was positively refused. “ He was treated to a 



264 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


goose fricassee ” was an expression frequently 
heard in the olden days. 

The Polish women of the upper classes are un¬ 
doubtedly charming and possessed of the graces of 
true womanliness. Perhaps it is the possession of 
these womanly qualities, and the absence of the mas¬ 
culine elements, wherein lies their real charm. A 
pencil or brush is certainly a much better medium 
than a pen to portray such attractive types of 
womanhood. 



CHAPTER XVII 


* 


THE PEASANT AND HIS RELIGION 

Ignorance — Tillers of the soil — Lot of women — Villages — Holidays 
— Tatra — The “ Goorals ” — Importance of religion — Shrines 
— Priests — Churches — Pilgrimages — Czentochowa — Mendi¬ 
cants. 

“ Niech bendzie pochevalowy ” (Christ be 
praised). 

“ Na wieky ” (for ages and ages). 

This is the customary greeting and answer among 
the Poles. It will be heard everywhere in travelling 
through that country. The peasant will always 
remove his hat in a truly gracious way, when he 
thus greets a noble or a stranger. 

It cannot be said that the Polish peasant shines 
intellectually. For that matter few peasants do, 
since there has been little opportunity to develop 
his intellect. As a consequence he impresses one 
as being rather slow in both thought and action. 
But he is not so slow as the Russian peasant, and 
he has more independence of thought and action 
than his Slav brother. This quality sometimes ap¬ 
proaches unruliness, as the Russian autocrat has 
experienced on many occasions. One will observe 
crudeness, but seldom coarseness or vulgarity. It 
is said that there is not even any slang in the lan- 
265 


266 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


guage. He is generally a self-respecting, even if 
poor, individual, and lie has a great deal of good 
common sense. 

The Polish peasant, like the Russian moujik, is 
essentially a tiller of the soil, for the Poles have 
always been an agrarian people. This has been his 
occupation during all the preceding generations, 
and it still continues to be the height of his ambi¬ 
tions. His talk is of agriculture, and most of his 
joys are connected with the different seasons. He 
loves to live thus close to Nature’s heart. Only in 
Russian Poland has the peasant been drawn in 
large numbers to the cities. He is compelled to live 
simply, for his financial condition does not admit 
of luxury. Most of his food is raised in his own 
garden or fields. Potatoes are a great staple, and 
cabbage is almost as important. Beans, corn and 
beets also add to the larder. Cabbage is much used 
in making the thick soups so well liked, and a soup 
is also made of red beets. In summer his costume 
is simple, consisting only of thin shirt and trousers, 
but in winter a sheepskin coat with the wool turned 
inside is added. To the bare feet are also added 
coarse hoots, and to the bare head a hat for the cold 
weather. 

The lot of the women, however, is especially hard, 
as it is with all Slav races, and this is noticeable 
throughout all the Polish provinces. They do more 
than their full share of the family work. Some- 



The Peasant and His Religion 267 

times one will see more women in the fields than 
men, and a kaleidoscopic effect of colour is then 
visible. Blue, green, yellow, gold and silver are 
mingled in various combinations. They pin up the 
overskirt, which leaves a bright petticoat exposed 
to view. A woman is valued chiefly for the work 
she can do, and she is expected to bear a large fam¬ 
ily of children as well. For a man to say that his 
wife does more work than a horse, or two horses, is 
considered the acme of praise. It is no wonder that 
a girl naturally attractive soon grows old and hag¬ 
gard. Hard work with little pleasure, the care of 
a numerous family, and no regard for personal at¬ 
traction must inevitably leave their mark before 
many years. Hence it is that many of these Polish 
women look haggard and old even before they have 
passed the third decade of life. 

There are indeed few bright spots in a Polish 
peasant girl’s life after marriage. In their youth 
some of the girls are very attractive, and they look 
quite charming in their picturesque national cos¬ 
tumes that are still common in Galicia. They gen¬ 
erally go bare-footed in summer, for boots cost 
money. Sometimes they will carry their boots 
when going to church, and only put them on just 
before entering the sanctuary. 

“ Do women work on the railroads as section- 
hands? ” I asked a fellow passenger on the railway 
in Galicia. I had seen groups of women along the 




268 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


track with pick and shovel in hand, but could 
scarcely believe that they did the hard work of that 
occupation. 

“ Yes, and they do the work better than the men,” 
he replied. 

At Cracow I have seen them carrying mortar for 
the masons and plasterers, where new buildings are 
being erected. They were spading the flower-beds 
in the parks, and were doing the work as well as the 
masculine overseer could have done it. They can 
hang paper or paint a house. It did not make any 
difference whether there were three or a dozen 
women working together, there was always one man 
who did nothing but act as overseer. Along the 
roads they may be seen carrying heavy bundles or 
pushing loaded wheelbarrows. Everywhere they 
may be observed doing work that involves consider¬ 
able physical strength. 

Quaint villages are scattered everywhere through¬ 
out Poland, for it is thus that the peasants dwell. 
Especially will the villages be found interesting on 
Sundays and holidays, when costumes are donned. 
In the suburbs of Cracow and Lemberg are thatch- 
roofed cottages, just as simple and crude as can be 
found in the remotest village, while the streets and 
sanitary arrangements are just as much neglected. 
The cottages are generally made of stone or boards 
plastered over, and are then covered with a coat of 
whitewash. The straw roof is frequently crowned 




POLISH WOMEN CARRYING MORTAR. CRACOW 




































































































































































The Peasant and His Religion 


269 


with green-growing moss, which adds to its pictur¬ 
esque appearance, if not its healthfulness. The in¬ 
terior is usually divided into two rooms. In one 
room the entire family live, eat and sleep; in the 
other, in more or less uproarious contentment, dwell 
the cows, pigs, chickens and geese. No household 
would be complete without a number of geese. In 
our American cities it is oftentimes difficult to per¬ 
suade the Polish immigrants to give up keeping 
some of these fowls. They want the feathers as well 
as the flesh. Around the cottage a number of chil¬ 
dren are sure to be seen playing, for the Poles are 
a prolific race. A dozen or twenty or thirty of such 
cottages, each separated only by a small yard, make 
up a village. A few trees add shade and beauty to 
the landscape. A long pole, balanced near the cen¬ 
tre, forms the well-sweep, which is used to draw 
water from the wells. The peasants of a village 
elect an official, somewhat after the communistic 
plan of the Russian peasants, and he acts as a sort 
of petty squire among them. 

If there is a marriageable daughter in the house, 
the lintel of the door and the window surroundings 
are ornamented with little irregular hands, which is 
a notice to the marriageable young man that he may 
find a wife within. The marriage-day is the one 
bright spot in the girPs life, since it is made the 
occasion for festivities, and the ceremony itself is 
very picturesque. There is music by peasant musi- 



270 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


dans, who play their liveliest tunes, and there must 
be some kind of liquor so that every one can drink 
the bride ’s health. The whole village turns out on 
such occasions. Joy and jollity reign supreme for 
the day. The landlord generally attends, and he 
and his family are supposed to dance with the peas¬ 
ants. 

There are many holidays in all parts of Poland, 
and no people look forward to such occasions more 
eagerly than the Poles. With each holiday is asso¬ 
ciated some legend or primitive custom. Christmas 
is an important occasion. The singing of Christmas 
carols is almost universal, and the Poles sing them 
well. For several days prior the women are busy 
fashioning things for the feast on Christmas eve. 
When the first star appears the parents and children 
enter the dining-room. The table is laid as richly 
as circumstances afford. Under the table-cloth is 
laid a little hay in memory of the fact that Jesus 
was born in a manger. After partaking of a wafer, 
which has been blessed by a priest, the supper is 
eaten. Then the music is started, and the singing 
of carols begins. 

Important as Christmas is, however, Easter is a 
still more ceremonious period. Holy Week is a 
great occasion, for each day has its own meaning. 
Figures of Judas are submitted to every kind of 
indignity. He is beaten, drowned in the ponds, and 
burned. It is somewhat like the Mexican custom of 





POLISH BRIDE AND GROOM 





























1 
















The Peasant and His Religion 


271 


“ exploding ” the papier mache representations of 
that arch traitor. On Easter Monday the peasants 
pour pails of water over each other in a spirit of 
fun. On Sunday morning the peasants take baskets 
of eggs, cheese and bread to the church to have them 
consecrated for the Easter dinner. This is the most 
elaborate meal of the year with both nobles and 
peasants. For several days previous preparations 
have been made, and the table is set with the sym¬ 
bolical lamb in the middle. 

Many festivities follow the harvest season, just as 
they do in Russia. In Podolia, one of the provinces 
of the Ukraine, they have quite a pretty custom. 
After the wheat or rye has been gathered, the pret¬ 
tiest girl is selected by ballot. A wreath of flowers 
is woven and placed upon her head. Two other 
girls are also selected as her attendants, who are 
likewise decorated with flowers. Then all march to 
the house of the landlord, where they are awaited, 
singing on the way. The lord or lady of the manor 
takes the wreath from the girPs head and gives her 
money, all of which the Ruthenian peasants then 
proceed to spend in a good time with eating and 
drinking. 

In the Tatra region of Galicia, in the Carpathian 
Mountains, the peasant type changes. This Tatra 
region, which is not very far from Cracow, is one 
of the most interesting mountain regions of Europe. 
To Americans, however, it is much less familiar 



272 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


than the Tyrol. It is the central point of the Car¬ 
pathian Mountains. Isolated and sharply defined 
from the other portions of this range, it rises like 
a gigantic wall to a height of over eight thousand 
feet from the midst of a great plateau. The highest 
peak is Franz Joseph (8,737 feet), and Lomnitz 
(8,642) is only a little lower. There sfre fully a hun¬ 
dred little lakes to he found in the many valleys, 
which are called by the inhabitants 44 the eyes of 
the sea.” There are many popular resorts in the 
Tatra region. It is a delight to dwell there amidst 
the clouds and white mist, and walk by the side of 
foaming streams which murmur among the moss- 
covered boulders and luxurious ferns, orchids and 
myosotis, or beneath towering cliffs of solid granite 
which pierce the skies with their sharp peaks and 
jagged ridges. 

In contrast to the short, light-haired and rather 
heavy Polish type of the plains, the 4 4 goorals ’ ’ are 
higher. The men are tall, with long, angular fea¬ 
tures, prominent cheek-bones, and penetrating eagle 
eyes. They resemble somewhat the red men of our 
own country in features. They are slender and 
sinewy, and have an elastic step. Their homes like¬ 
wise have a sort of Swiss characteristic, being built 
of tightly-fitting logs of spruce, which become red¬ 
dish-brown with age, and are surmounted by a very 
steep shingle roof. The big rafters are embellished 
with carved ornaments of a very unique character. 



The Peasant and His Religion 


273 


They are very clever in their wood carving — all of 
which is done by hand. They love their mountains, 
and have the feeling of independence characteristic 
of mountaineers. They are vivacious, hospitable, 
brave and chivalrous. They speak Polish, but with 
a dialect of their own. Their costume consists of a 
coarse linen shirt fastened with a brass brooch, a 
sleeveless sheepskin jacket of a reddish colour, 
richly decorated with ornaments of coloured leather 
and silk embroidery, and lined with fur. A belt of 
cowhide ten inches wide is worn by many, which is 
much ornamented with brass buckles and gew-gaws, 
and will weigh fifteen pounds. It jingles greatly 
as the wearer walks. A cloak is generally worn 
over one shoulder. A black felt hat shaped like a 
mushroom and soft leather sandals complete this 
costume, which sometimes weighs as much as thirty- 
five pounds. 

The “ gooral ” always carries in his hands a 
tomahawk-like axe on a long shaft, which is used as 
a cane, a tool, or a weapon. The women are smaller, 
but quick and graceful. Their hair is combed flat, 
and plaited in long braids. They wear sheepskin 
jackets and rather long skirts. Orange, yellow or 
green kerchiefs are generally worn on their heads, 
and are pulled over their cheeks to protect them 
from sunburn. It would be difficult to find any 
people more primitive than these Carpathian Poles. 
One will still find the zarna, two disks of stone for 



274 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


grinding grain. The upper one is set in rotary 
motion by a long pole attached at one end. Ploughs, 
harrows, pitchforks are all home made of wood. 
Wooden utensils of all kinds are fashioned for use 
in the homes. 

A deep religious instinct seems to be inborn with 
the Slav peasant. The writer has had occasion to 
treat of that in “ The Russian Empire of To-day 
and Yesterday.’’ It is the same with the Polish 
peasant, with whom religion is also a part of his 
life. The only difference is the form of his religion, 
for practically all the Poles are adherents of the 
Church of Rome. With both races religion and 
patriotism are closely intertwined. In the daily life 
of the Polish peasant the name of Christ and the 
Virgin will be heard repeatedly. He would not 
think of living in a house that had not been blessed 
by a priest. A manufacturer would find it difficult 
to keep his hands if the factory had not been blessed. 
A theatre would die from lack of patronage if the 
priestly blessing had been denied the building. 

The Slav temperament seems to be particularly 
susceptible to religious impressions, and devotion 
to the Church reaches a degree for which it is dif¬ 
ficult to find analogies in any other part of modern 
Europe. All of the legends and folklore are relig¬ 
ious in character, and many beautiful stories are 
related of the peasants’ love and reverence for the 
Virgin and Christ. In particular, however, it is 



The Peasant and His Religion 


275 


the Virgin, the “ Mother of God,” as they call her, 
who is their protector, their ideal, and their refnge 
in time of trouble. 

In Cracow one will find a shrine in almost every 
block, and at many of the prominent street inter¬ 
sections. In the country they rise up in the most 
unexpected places. Some of them are simply 
weather-stained wooden crosses, which stand erect 
among the fields, while others have an image of the 
Saviour or Virgin. Some of the plaster figures are 
most incongruous, and are so crude as to be really 
absurd. The Polish peasant is not satisfied with his 
worship in the churches, but he must bow himself at 
all of the shrines which he may pass. 

One can only speculate as to the cause of this re¬ 
ligious enthusiasm. It may be that the contest with 
Mohammedanism brought out these traits, and in¬ 
tensified the devotion of the masses to their own 
Church. While other people were attracted more or 
less by different faiths, and were affected to a 
greater or lesser degree by the currents of the 
Reformation, the Poles remained faithful to their 
Church, for which they were always ready to fight 
and die. For the Church they would willingly draw 
the sword. To be a good Pole, one must be a good 
Christian; and in order to be a good Christian, one 
must be a good Catholic. It is almost pitiful to see 
the desperation with which the Polish peasants 
cling to what seem to a Westerner to be antiquated 



276 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 

religious forms, and into the observance of which 
they seem to throw their whole soul. The men in 
the churches will almost equal the women in num¬ 
bers, and they seem fully as absorbed in their de¬ 
votion. 

The Roman priest occupies an entirely different 
position from the Russian priest. The latter is re¬ 
garded only because he is the sole person who can 
perform the rites of the church, and in his own 
person is frequently even despised. Provided the 
priest be the right priest, and the words he utters 
be the right words, and spoken in the proper way, 
and in the right place, they are certain to have the 
desired effect. The character of the speaker, or his 
commercial spirit in the transaction, makes no dif¬ 
ference whatsoever. The priests form a caste much 
as did the Levites of old. The Polish priest is the 
real friend of his people. He is identified with 
every phase of the peasant life, and there are no 
festivities in which he does not take a part. He is 
looked up to as the guide and the guardian in many 
respects by his parishioners. It cannot be said that 
in his personal habits he always sets an ideal ex¬ 
ample. 

In the churches the devotion of the Polish peas¬ 
ants is most noticeable. Worshippers prostrated 
upon the floor, and sometimes stretched out to rep¬ 
resent the cross, may be seen at almost any time; 
and on days of church celebrations it is difficult at 




The Peasant and His Religion 


277 


times to move about among the swaying and recum¬ 
bent forms of the worshippers without tramping 
upon some one or more. Occasionally a worshipper 
may become afflicted with some form of hysteria; 
some venerable man may beat his head upon the 
stone floor in his agony of spirit, while others will 
be afflicted with such depression that they become 
absolutely dumb. Children are early taught to do 
the various acts of homage. The sacred images are 
all worn smooth by the osculations of the devoted 
worshippers. Every conceiveable device is em¬ 
ployed by the clergy to obtain and retain control 
of the simple mind of the peasant. Every material 
that can draw the attention of the eye, and every 
sound that will attract the ear, is employed in the 
religious symbols. 

There are many places of pilgrimage which are 
sacred to the Poles. The most holy of all, and the 
one as sacred to the Polish Catholics as is Kiev to 
the Orthodox Russians, is Czenstochowa, which is 
in Russian Poland and about half-way between 
Cracow and Warsaw. The royal processions on the 
way from Warsaw to Cracow for the coronation 
ceremonies used always to stop at this shrine. The 
modern city is rapidly growing, as a number of fac¬ 
tories have been established. There is nothing at¬ 
tractive about it, except the scenes of religious de¬ 
votion. When the Swedes invaded Poland, during 
the reign of John Casimir, these northern hosts cap- 



278 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


tured Warsaw and Cracow. The king fled at first, 
but finally rallied his forces and defeated the in¬ 
vaders at this holy city of Czenstochowa, in 1655. 

The Swedes were attracted by the great riches 
which had already been accumulated in the church 
at Czenstochowa, which is known as the Jasna Gora. V 
Their invasion was looked upon as a sacrilege by 
the Poles. The defence of this church is a noted 
event in Polish history, and has been made the sub¬ 
ject of one of Sienkiewicz’s Trilogy — i ‘ The Del¬ 
uge.” The victory was due, according to the belief 
of the Poles, to the direct intervention of the Virgin 
Mother. For that reason the image which resides 
in this church is supposed to have a special holiness. 
The image itself is decorated with many precious 
stones, among which are diamonds, rubies, emer¬ 
alds, topazes, and pearls — scarcely any precious 
stone is missing. Above the picture a massive gold 
crown stands out conspicuously. A group of church 
buildings, surrounded by a lofty brick wall, have 
been erected, which are situated on an elevation 
from which they can be seen for miles around. They 
resemble a fortress as much as a church. Many 
actual miracles are believed to have been per¬ 
formed here, and the Virgin is credited with several 
personal visitations. There are many little booths, 
where food, candles, and holy articles are sold dur¬ 
ing the holiday occasions. 

The Poles consider it a great privilege to be per- 



The Peasant and His Religion 


279 


mitted to make a pilgrimage to Czenstochowa. No 
sacrifice is too great to be made in order to accom¬ 
plish the journey. They will walk day after day, 
suffer cold and hunger, and remain here, patiently 
and uncomplainingly, for hour after hour during the 
ceremonies of the special festal occasions. Bands 
of pilgrims are almost constantly coming in from 
some direction. Sometimes hundreds and even 
thousands of peasants may be seen lying flat on 
their faces during worship, each one muttering his 
prayers. In places the stones are actually worn by 
the contact of the knees of the worshippers. 

It is not a pleasant sight to attend one of these 
celebrations, because of the host of beggars in the 
most revolting conditions of deformity — sightless, 
earless, legless, armless, and even witless. One can¬ 
not help but feel pity for these poor people, know¬ 
ing how little public provision is made for them, 
but the very inability to relieve any great amount 
of the visible misery and want is a grief in itself. 
After such a visit one is very glad to get away from 
the pitiful pleadings of these beggars for a little 
alms “ in the name of the Mother of God.” 



CHAPTER XVIII 


THE POLISH JEW 

Earlocks — Early migrations — Special privileges — The Golden Age 
— The Kahal — The proletariat — Repulsive villages — Ghetto 
— Women — Marriage broker — The Pale — Persecutions — The 
halat — The Bund — Talmudists — Rabbis — Narrow religious 
outlook. 

“ Oi vail 99 (woe is me) is the Hebrew wail that 
will be heard frequently throughout the Pale of 
Settlement, which includes Russian Poland, where 
the world’s largest Jewish population reside. Fully 
one-half of the Jews in the entire world live within 
the territory over which Poland once exercised 
sovereignty. The Polish Jew is not difficult to 
recognize. His costume, his personal appearance, 
his mannerisms, all have an individuality of their 
own. In Galicia the most distinguishing character¬ 
istic are the earlocks, or peasy, two locks of hair 
which are allowed to grow long and hang in front 
of the ears. The earlocks are regarded as a mark 
of piety, and the Jewish boys actually shed tears 
when they are obliged to have them shaved off on 
entering the Austrian army. 

“ Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, 
neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard,” 
280 



TYPICAL POLISH JEW 











The Polish Jew 


281 


is the command which the Polish Jew obeys. For 
many centuries he has walked about with these 
locks, which sometimes reach to the shoulder. A 
few years ago Russia issued an order forbidding 
the earlocks, and many Jews were taken to the 
police-station, where the strands of hair were for¬ 
cibly clipped by the officers. To-day these emblems 
of piety have entirely disappeared from the Land 
of the Czar. 

The beginning of the Jewish migration to Poland 
is unknown. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, 
the editor of which has made an exhaustive research 
into the subject of Polish Hebrew history, many 
Jews were found in Poland as early as the eighth 
and ninth centuries. Where these early Jews came 
from, whether from Prussia or Southern Russia, is 
not well established. The first charter, according 
to this authority, was issued in 905, which granted 
to Jews freedom of trade and autonomy in judicial 
matters. This was before the conversion of the 
rulers to Christianity. In the reign of Mieczyslaw 
III, the Jews were in charge of the coinage of the 
country, and a number of coins are still extant upon 
which Hebrew characters appear in addition to the 
name of the sovereign. All violence against them 
was prohibited by stringent laws. 

In the eleventh century the historical records 
show that a number of Jews were living in Gnesen. 
Some of them were rich and owned Christian slaves, 



282 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


as the wife of the king spent large sums of money 
in purchasing the liberty of these slaves. A little 
later a fresh influx of Jews came from Germany, 
and we find that special privileges are granted to 
them by the reigning sovereign, as money lenders. 
There is no record of any other business charter 
being granted to them, so it is fair to assume that 
this was their principal business even at this early 
date. They were allowed to charge as much as 
twenty-five per cent, usury. 

A charter of 1264 deals with every detail of the 
relations of Christians and Jews in a spirit of jus¬ 
tice. Any one who struck a Jew, despoiled a Jew¬ 
ish cemetery, or abducted a Jewish child was sub¬ 
ject to a heavy fine. Throwing stones at a Hebrew 
school was punishable by a fine of two pounds of 
pepper. It was an offence to even accuse the Is¬ 
raelites of using Christian blood in their worship. 
As the Church became more powerful, however, we 
find that restrictions were imposed upon the Jews 
in certain dioceses. For instance, in Posen we find 
that the Jews were obliged to live in special sec¬ 
tions, separated by a wall from their Christian 
neighbours; they were not allowed to appear on 
the streets during religious processions; they were 
required to wear a special cap to distinguish them; 
they were not allowed to keep Christian servants. 
At one period all the children of Israel in Poland 
were compelled to wear yellow caps and red patches 



The Polish Jew 


283 


on their clothes to distinguish them from the rest 
of the population. 

The Golden Age of the Jews in Poland dates from 
Casimir the Great (1303-70). His favour to the 
Jews is said to have been instigated by his love for 
a Jewess, named Esther. Whether this is true or 
not, under his long reign the Jews were very pros¬ 
perous. It must have seemed like a Golden Age to 
the Jews of that day, who were subject to atrocious 
persecutions from Christians in all the neighbour¬ 
ing nations. Because the Poles were almost exclu¬ 
sively agriculturalists, Casimir felt that the Jews 
brought in a necessary element to form the middle 
class. For that reason they were allowed to enter 
almost every line of trade. The successors of Casi¬ 
mir, however, were not so broad-minded, and there 
are records which show a number of horrible mur¬ 
ders of Jews. They were generally caused by re¬ 
ligious fanaticism, as the story would be spread that 
the Jews had stolen a Host from some church and 
desecrated it. In Posen, because of an alleged dese¬ 
cration, a fine was imposed upon the Jews for the 
benefit of the Dominican church, which was col¬ 
lected for several centuries. Eitual murder was 
also alleged against them at times. 

As Catholicism became more firmly established, 
and the power of the clergy more securely en¬ 
trenched, these fanatical disturbances became more 
frequent. And yet the persecutions in the other 



284 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


countries of Europe were so much worse that Jews 
continued to come into Poland as a haven of refuge. 
In Poland their ill treatment was only spasmodic 
and did not last long. Their teeth were not ex¬ 
tracted nor their limbs amputated, as in many gov¬ 
ernments ; neither were they tormented in order to 
force them to change their faith. In some coun¬ 
tries women killed their children and men killed 
themselves to escape forcible baptism or some form 
of torture. It is not surprising that Jews began to 
hoard diamonds and other portable forms of wealth, 
for they were likely to be plundered at any time. 
It was not long until Poland became the spiritual 
head of all Jewdom. Most of the sovereigns, so long 
as they were independent, remained fairly liberal 
toward the Jews, but as the Diet gradually usurped 
the independence of the king, the lot of the Jews 
became harder. 

The Kahal was a peculiar institution among the 
Jews. The government levied its taxes against the 
Jews as a body in the various communities, and cer¬ 
tain ones were designated as tax collectors. The 
Jews gradually formed an elective body called the 
Kahal, the number of which varied according to the 
size of the communities, and the members of which 
were elected at the Feast of the Passover, for a 
period of one year. In Cracow there were forty 
members. At the head there were four elders who 
acted as judges in both civil and criminal matters, 



The Polish Jew 


285 


regulated commerce, drew up marriage settlements, 
collected the taxes, settled conjugal disputes, etc. 
In Warsaw only those who paid a tax of fifteen rou¬ 
bles were entitled to vote. In criminal matters the 
courts were presided over by learned rabbis, who 
judged according to the laws of Moses. Thus this 
body gradually developed into an oligarchy, which 
dispensed administration and regulated the relig¬ 
ious life of the community as well, although the two 
were usually kept distinct. Its power and influence 
were proverbial. The charitable institutions main¬ 
tained by them did very good work. In many cases 
the action of this body was as harsh and unfeeling 
almost as that of the government itself could have 
been. After the dismemberment of Poland the 
Kahal gradually disappeared, although it existed 
in Courland down as late as 1893. There is still 
a sort of communal organization which has taken 
its place. 

Although the Jews had in general remained apart 
from their Christian neighbours, we find that in the 
closing days of the nation they fought side by side 
with the Christian Poles. A regiment of Jewish 
cavalry fought in the Kosciuszko rebellion, and they 
must have fought desperately, for the majority of 
them were killed in the final stand at Praga. By 
that time they had begun to realize that the loss of 
Polish nationality meant the loss of much freedom 
to themselves. Their action, however, was too late. 




286 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


Perhaps their previous isolation was not altogether 
self-chosen, as the Poles themselves did not court 
either social or political intercourse with their Jew¬ 
ish neighbours. 

As a result of the influx of Jews into Poland, we 
find a greater proportion of Israelites in that sec¬ 
tion of the world to-day than anywhere else. They 
are fewer in numbers in the Prussian provinces, 
where they do not exceed one per cent, of the popu¬ 
lation; but in Galicia and Russian Poland they are 
very numerous indeed. In the town populations of 
some of the governments of Russian Poland, they 
exceed the Poles in numbers. In a few towns they 
reach as high a percentage as eighty or even ninety 
per cent. Many are well to do and prosperous, but 
probably four-fifths belong to the proletariat, those 
who sutler more or less from the economic condi¬ 
tions. 

The Jew is one of the great problems in both 
Russia and Austria. He holds a sway and exercises 
an influence in the Russian Empire that is the more 
powerful because it is so silent; the more effective 
because it is generally unfelt. “ It is,” says the 
author of “ The Polish Jew,” “ a silent, defence¬ 
less army, which, though always defeated, never 
loses, never flinches nor turns back, no matter how 
strong the fortress or how large the garrison ar¬ 
rayed against it. Always suffering, it is ever vic¬ 
torious ; physically cowardly, it never flinches; but, 



The Polish Jew 


287 


gathering up its scattered forces, stands shoulder 
to shoulder and man to man, vanquished by all, yet 
seeing all its conquerors, proud kingdoms and 
mighty empires though they be, crumble into for¬ 
gotten dust, whilst it rises once more, with untiring 
patience, with a mixture of fear and valour, humil¬ 
ity and arrogance, to confront younger nations with 
its insoluble problem/’ 

Whether through choice, or the restrictions that 
have been placed upon him, the Polish Jew has lost 
his primitive taste for agriculture, and is interested 
wholly in barter and trade. In most communities 
the Jews are in such large numbers that there is not 
sufficient of this class of business for them. As a 
result they are obliged to live by their wits in the 
best way they can. They buy and sell everything 
for other people, from theatre tickets to diamonds. 
If a peasant brings in a load of watermelons, he will 
probably engage a Jewish middleman to dispose of 
his stock. If a landlord wishes to engage help for 
his farm, he will generally secure the services of a 
Jew. If he wishes to smuggle something across the 
border he will certainly employ a Jewish interme¬ 
diary. In a few towns Jewish cab-drivers will be 
found, while there are many who work as tailors, 
painters, shoemakers, jewellers, stocking-knitters, 
toy-makers, and a few like occupations. Innkeeping 
is a branch of business almost monopolized by Jews 
in many places, but the inns are not to be recom- 



288 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


mended to the fastidious. The furniture is scarce, 
but the dirt is plentiful. 

Nothing is more repulsive than an Austrian or 
Russian village, the majority of whose inhabitants 
are Jews. The homes look anything but attractive, 
the streets are simply mudholes, in which the chil¬ 
dren, geese and pigs take equal delight in wallow¬ 
ing as it seems, and the people themselves look as 
though a bath was one of the first requirements. 
Groups of unkempt men and almost slatternly 
women stand around talking. The Jews do not eat 
pork themselves, but they raise the pigs for their 
Christian neighbours. The villagers seem to have 
nothing to do, and the lack of it does not seem to 
worry them. Brody is a fair example of a medium¬ 
sized Austrian town, where the majority of the 
seventeen or eighteen thousand inhabitants are 
Jews. As there are practically no restrictive laws 
against them here, one might expect some order, 
some sense of public decency. These same traits 
will be found carried into the old Petticoat Lane dis¬ 
trict of London, and some sections of New York. 
But they seem to have no public spirit, as though 
they preferred a parasitic existence. They have 
started no industries, preferring to exist only as 
dealers or middlemen. Haggling and bargaining is 
heard everywhere, even in the synagogues, and the 
only place exempt is in the cemeteries, where the 
past generations lie beneath tombstones eight or 





SCENE IN THE JEWISH QUARTER, WARSAW 





















The Polish Jew 


289 


ten feet high covered with inscriptions in Hebrew 
characters. 

In Cracow, Lemberg and Warsaw, the conditions 
will be found better in the Jewish quarter, because 
the city authorities enforce at least a moderate de¬ 
gree of cleanliness; but even there the Ghetto is 
less attractive than the poor sections of the other 
nationalities. In Lemberg, a town fairly clean, the 
Jewish quarter around the market is the worst sec¬ 
tion of the city. One reason is that they are crowded 
together in the homes so much that it is not possi¬ 
ble to keep the surroundings clean, and they have 
not yet acquired a liking for fresh air. As a rule, 
the atmosphere of the Ghetto is that of patience and 
submission. There is little laughter, and even the 
children are devoid of the smiles of childhood. 
There is almost a total absence of the street humour 
and gaiety to be seen in other sections of the cities. 
Nobody hurries, for the languor and the spirit of 
the Ghetto is upon all. Here and there walk men 
to whom the outer world means little, for they live 
with the law and the prophets. Moses is a more 
real personage to them than city magistrates, or 
even the czar himself. 

Many of the Jewish women are very attractive, 
as they are generally blessed with good figures. 
They wear no distinctive dress, as the men do, but 
nearly all are adorned with huge ear-rings. In 
many cases they are the bosses, instead of the men, 



290 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


and the husband is of the henpecked variety. Mar¬ 
riage occurs at a very early age — frequently at 
fifteen. A girl has scarcely passed the doll stage 
until she is called upon to take care of babies of her 
own. Many a woman of twenty-five is the mother 
of half a dozen children. As soon as married she 
is supposed to have her head shaved. The Talmud 
says that when a woman is married she has no 
business to please any man, as her mission in life is 
fulfilled. As a woman’s hair is one of her chief 
charms, she must sacrifice it. The original inten¬ 
tion seems to have been that they should wear a 
close-fitting cap, but the Jewesses long ago began 
to wear wigs on their shaved heads. Thousands of 
these wigs will be found among the strictly ortho¬ 
dox Jews, but a natural (and excusable) vanity has 
saved many a beautiful head of hair. Among the 
more progressive Jews, even those who are ortho¬ 
dox in most things, this custom has generally dis¬ 
appeared. 

The position of woman is rather paradoxical. A 
very strict Talmudist will not sit down to eat with 
his wife, or take food from a woman’s hands. In 
some households the father and sons sit down first 
and are served by the women, who eat afterwards. 
Generally, however, the two sexes eat together, al¬ 
though the men frequently sit on one side of the 
table and the women on the other. The men are 
exempt from compulsory bathing, but the women 



The Polish Jew 


291 


must take the mykva, or ritualistic batli. The 
women do not have to say so many prayers as the 
men, and they do not strap the Laws of Moses, 
written on parchment, on their heads and arms, as 
the men do when praying on week-days. The cus¬ 
tom grows out of the command: 4 ‘ Thou shalt bind 
them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be 
as frontlets before thine eyes.” The Talmud even 
allows a man to punish his wife if she curses him or 
speaks slightingly of his parents. 

A boy of fourteen and a girl of thirteen already 
begin to think of getting married. The shadchan, 
marriage broker, advertises the piety, housewifely 
talents and good looks of the girls on his list among 
the parents with marriageable sons. The young 
people most interested are seldom consulted. When 
the dowry has been arranged, the marriage soon 
takes place. It usually occurs in the evening, by the 
light of lanterns, which the guests hold. Some poor 
families will almost starve themselves in order to 
have some dainty or a bottle of wine for the occa¬ 
sion. Hops are thrown after the bride for prosper¬ 
ity. A marriage contract is usually drawn up which 
sets forth the details of the arrangement. A clause 
frequently sets forth the length of time the young 
couple are to live with the parents of each. If the 
boy is destined for a rabbi, he has no difficulty in 
making a good match. The father-in-law will un¬ 
dertake to look after the family so that the hoy can 



292 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


continue his studies of the Talmud. To be left an 
44 old maid ” of twenty-five is a terrible misfortune 
both for the girl and the parents, and the girls must 
be married in the order of their ages. Parenthood is 
the great career. A prayer is uttered over each 
girl baby that a pious man may some day take her 
to wife, and a messiah may be among her sons. 
Divorce is not a difficult matter if the husband de¬ 
cides to take that course, but the divorced wife must 
be given back half of the dowry she brought with 
her. The wife also has her recourse to divorce 
from an undesirable husband. 

In Russia, the Jews are confined to what is called 
the Pale of Settlement. This includes a broad strip 
of land along the western border of Russia in which 
is the original Kingdom of Poland, as it was called, 
and ten other governments. Outside of that they 
are only allowed to live by special permission, with 
the exception of a few exempt classes. Warsaw 
and Odessa probably have the largest Jewish popu¬ 
lation, but Vilna, Kiev, Kishinev, and many other 
cities also have a large number of Jewish inhabit¬ 
ants. The cruelties which they have been compelled 
to undergo belong rather to the history of Russia, 
and have been treated in the author’s work, 44 The 
Russian Empire of To-day and Yesterday.” 

It is no wonder that the Jewish children in Russia 
are afraid of the cross. 44 I was afraid of the 
cross,” says the author of 44 The Promised Land ” 



The Polish Jew 


293 


in her remarkable autobiography, “ for it was the 
cross that made the priests, and the priests made 
our troubles, as even some Christians admitted. 
The Gentiles said that we had killed their God, 
which was absurd, as they never had a God — noth¬ 
ing but images (meaning the Russian icons). Be¬ 
sides, what they accused us of had happened so long 
ago; the Gentiles themselves said it was long ago. 
Everybody had been dead for ages who could have 
had anything to do with it. ... To worship the 
cross and to torment a Jew was the same thing to 
them. That is why we feared the cross. Another 
thing the Gentiles said about us was that we used 
the blood of murdered Christian children at the 
Passover festival. Of course, that was a wicked lie. 
It made me sick to think of such a thing. I knew 
everything that was done for the Passover, from the 
time I was a very little girl.” 

And yet it was just such teaching that caused the 
massacre at Kishinev, in 1903, and the “ pogroms ” 
at Odessa and other cities in the four or five years 
following. I have heard many tales from eye-wit¬ 
nesses of those horrible events. “ I cursed the 
church in my heart every time I had to pass it,” 
continues this author, “ and yet I was afraid — 
afraid. ... I knew how to dodge and cringe and 
dissemble before I knew the names of the seasons. 
And I had plenty of time to ponder on these things 
because I was so idle. If they had let me go to 



294 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


school, now: — But of course, they didn’t.” Only 
a small percentage of the Jewish children are per¬ 
mitted to attend the public schools and universities. 

The Russian might well be referred to the verses 
of the late Joaquin Miller, of which one stanza 
reads as follows: 

“ Who taught you tender Bible tales 
Of honey-lands, of milk and wine, 

Of happy, peaceful Palestine, 

Of Jordan’s holy harvest-vales? 

Who gave the patient Christ, I say? 

Who gave you Christian creed? Yea, Yea, 

Who gave your very God to you? 

The Jew! The Jew! The hated Jew! ” 

The Russian Jew looks very much like his Aus¬ 
trian brother, except that he is not permitted to 
wear the corkscrew curls and has dispensed with 
the old top-hat and furry turban. But he still wears 
the halat, a long coat fastened as far as the waist 
with many hooks and reaching to the ankle; in the 
sleeves of this he buries his hands, if he does not 
fold them across his stomach or clasp them at his 
back. This habit, and the stooping, slouching gait, 
accentuates the consumptive appearance so fre¬ 
quently remarked upon by writers. He looks 
neither more nor less miserable than his brother 
across the border. One would not think that he had 
any fear either of expulsion or cruel treatment. 
Neither is he any dirtier than the other. In that 
respect the two are on a par. The required army 



The Polish Jew 


295 


service is his worst trial. In addition to the fact 
that he is serving a government that persecutes his 
race, there is the necessity of breaking the Jewish 
laws of daily life, work on the Sabbath, and eat food 
that is not kosher (clean). Then, in addition, most 
of them are married by the age of twenty-one, which 
is the age of conscription. Men have been known 
to submit to operations which cause them great 
suffering, in the hopes of escaping service. 

In Austria the lot of the Jew is better, for the 
laws grant him practical freedom; and yet here one 
will find that every man’s hand is against him to 
some extent, for in Cracow and Lemberg I have seen 
them hooted at in the streets and jostled by groups 
of young boys, so that life is not the pleasantest. 
No one seems to want his company, and, for that 
matter, he does not seek the company of others than 
his own race. If the persecution becomes worse, 
one will hear that Hebrew wail of “ Oi vai! ” for 
he does not retaliate. He is all servility and humil¬ 
ity. Nevertheless, the Polish Jew seems to be fairly 
well contented, for he walks along the street lightly 
swinging his little stick, smoking his thin cigarettes, 
and winding his curls almost lovingly about his 
finger. Some of the wealthier ones wear silk hats, 
dress in European clothes, and assume an air of 
prosperity which is impossible with the majority 
of the Jews. 

As a rule the Jew is law-abiding and peaceable, 



296 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 

but in Russia one finds that the Jewish Bund is one 
of the most active revolutionary societies in that 
turbulent empire. This organization has taken an 
active part in the fight for political freedom which 
has been waged in that empire for the last decade. 
It grew as a self-protecting body against the 
“ pogroms/ ’ in which so many Jews were killed, or 
lost their all. Funds have been furnished for Rus¬ 
sian anarchistic propaganda, and arms have been 
surreptitiously provided for those Jews who were 
willing to bear them. The Bund works with the 
mystery characteristic of the East; many hated 
police officers and government officials have become 
its victims. Its ultimate aim is the overthrow of 
czardom and the establishment of a democratic 
government. In this respect its purposes coincide 
with those of all other revolutionary societies in 
Russia. Strikes of workmen have been instigated 
by it, and efforts have been made to stir up disaf¬ 
fection in the army and navy. One effect upon 
Jewish life has undoubtedly been to take the minds 
of the Jewish proletariat from the past and fix it 
upon a better future in the land where it lives. 

In his religious views the Polish Jew is extremely 
narrow. He is a strict Talmudist, looking to that 
strange record of priestly learning and philosophy 
for a guidance in every act of life. In the minute 
observance of traditional rites he seeks balm for his 
wounds. To him they stand in the place of father- 



The Polish Jew 


297 


land and nationality. If an animal is killed, and 
there is anything unusual about it, the matter must 
be submitted to the rabbi; if a drop of pure milk 
should fall upon a piece of absolutely clean meat, 
the latter can not be eaten until it is pronounced 
kosher. He would not buy bread from a Gentile 
baker, unless the latter had a certificate from a rabbi 
that his flour is clean and free from all impurities, 
and has not come in contact with lard or any other 
fat. For the preparation of the thin cakes used at 
the Passover, the wheat is carefully watched from 
the time it is in flower. It is threshed under watch¬ 
ful eyes, and the grain is put into sealed bags until 
needed for the Passover. These cakes must be 
baked by men, as women may not touch the cakes 
in the making. A strict Jew would not eat food 
which is tryfny, that is, food not prepared accord¬ 
ing to the prescribed rites. The Jewish Sabbath is 
very strictly observed, and is ushered in with sing¬ 
ing and prayer. 

An entire book could be filled with an account of 
these and many other customs which still keep the 
Polish Jew a man apart from the rest of the popu¬ 
lation among whom he lives. Many of them are not 
only strange but really repulsive, especially those in 
connection with the burial of the dead, having no 
better authority than some long-deceased rabbi who 
saw fit to write them, and they have now found a 
place in the Talmud. They were probably based on 



298 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 

crude ideas of sanitation and cleanliness, but to-day 
they serve no other purpose than to keep their ob¬ 
servers wrapped up in ignorance and superstition. 

As might well be surmised, the rabbi is a very 
important individual among the Polish Jews. It is 
the duty of the rabbi to see that the people follow 
the prescribed ceremonies. From birth to the grave 
he is the law and the prophet to his chosen people. 
A settlement would not exist long without a rabbi, 
and when one religious leader dies another is soon 
secured. In Warsaw, although there are only a 
dozen synagogues, there are several hundred 
“ Houses of Prayer ” presided over by rabbis. 
There is a college of rabbis, called the Rabbinat, 
composed of the spiritual heads of the twelve com¬ 
munal synagogues. Each rabbi presides over the 
Rabbinat one month in the year according to the 
Jewish calendar. The pay of a rabbi is not usually 
large, but he is at least given a home and food, and, 
no matter how poor or dirty, he is a man looked up 
to and respected in the community. 

The language of the Polish Jews is known as the 
'Yiddish. When the German Jews came into Poland 
they brought with them a corrupt Hebrew-German 
jargon, to which many Polish words have been 
added. It has grown up thus, a patchwork of many 
elements, and has become with these outcast people 
as a national language. The orthodox Jews use 
Polish or Russian only when they are compelled to 



The Polish Jew 


299 


do so by the exigencies of trade. It has helped to 
preserve the feeling of exclusiveness. As the Jews 
generally know Russian and Polish, their linguistic 
accomplishments are frequently of great aid in 
making a livelihood. 

General education is at a comparatively low ebb 
among the Polish Jews. The orthodox Jews are 
usually satisfied with the cheder, which is generally 
in the poor quarters of the master. Here the 
teacher in his long robe teaches his pupils some 
Hebrew learning and the Scriptures. The teacher 
reads a passage, which his pupils repeat after him. 
All of this creates a great hubbub. Most girls, how¬ 
ever, do not have the opportunity to attend the 
cheder, the percentage usually being less than ten. 
In Russia only from three to ten per cent, of stu¬ 
dents in the public institutions may be Jews. But, 
as a member of the professions is exempted from the 
restrictions of residence, the Jews are anxious to 
educate their children, and the applicants for ad¬ 
mission are very numerous indeed. Only the bright¬ 
est minds are usually able to gain admission, and 
as a- result they win more than their proportion of 
the honours. 

The old conservative Jew looks upon the study of 
the Talmud as the only fit occupation, and views 
modern ideas of education with horror. Many a 
boy has been turned out of the home because, after 
learning the Talmud by heart, he wanted to read 



300 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


something more worldly. The exchanging of his 
long coat for a short coat by a young Jew has 
brought consternation in many a household. For 
these trifling things, the parents will mourn their 
sons as worse than dead, and hang their heads in 
the presence of their friends as if in disgrace. But 
how proud the happy father is whose son is destined 
for a rabbi. He need never work; he is spared 
from the sweating shop and the hated factory. No 
matter how dirty or how poor, he will be sought 
after by parents with marriageable daughters. At 
the age of thirteen he is received into the synagogue 
with ceremony, for his father is no longer respon¬ 
sible for his sins. He must now observe the fasts 
himself, and perform the same religious duties as 
his elders. He must pray many times a day, and he 
cannot break his fast without saying a short prayer 
both before and after eating. If the youthful rabbi 
can discover some new explanation for an obscure 
passage in the Talmud, or hold his own in discus¬ 
sions with the elders, his future is assured and his 
parents are elated. 

In the synagogue scores of men sit all day poring 
over Hebrew books, and disputing among them¬ 
selves. This is their idea of scholarship. Some of 
them have developed a deep mysticism, and many 
miracle-workers have been reputed among these 
orthodox Jews. Disease is often treated by so- 
called pious men or women with prayers and incan- 



The Polish Jew 


301 


tations. Messianic prophets have been almost with¬ 
out number. A few thousand of Jews, known as the 
Karaites, reject the Talmud, and are practically 
ostracized by their brethren. 

It would be difficult to find a people of any faith 
more devoted to their religion than the average 
Jews of Austrian or Russian Poland. The new ar¬ 
rivals in the United States exhibit the same char¬ 
acteristics, but the second generation has wandered 
away from the strictness of their fathers, especially 
if they settle in a community where there is not a 
large Jewish population. In the Ghetto of New 
York will probably be seen the closest observance of 
the religious customs of the Polish Jews to be found 
in the United States. A continuous stream of fresh 
arrivals serves to keep alive the old faith in all its 
narrowness. The costume is discarded, however, 
the earlocks are cut off, but beards remain, and the 
wigs which cover the shaved heads of the women 
can readily be recognized. An almost entire ab¬ 
sence of religious faith of any kind seems to take 
possession of the second generation, as commercial 
prosperity and the ambition for wealth takes its 
place. The one extreme seems to follow the deser¬ 
tion of the other extreme, and the future alone can 
tell its final effect on the character of the Polish 
Jews. In many individual cases the result has been 
unfortunate, as the records of the criminal courts 
and the underworld reveal. 



CHAPTER XIX 


LITERATURE AND ART 

Early legends — Reformation — Latin poets — First printing press — 
Peter Skarga — Copernicus — Effect of partitionings — Niemce- 
wicz — Mickiewicz — Slowacki — Krasinski — “ Pan Tadeusz ” 
— Lelewal — Sienkiewicz — The “ Trilogy ” — Newspapers — 
Painters — Chopin — Paderewski — Madam Modjeska. 

The Slav mind furnishes excellent material for 
the building up of genuine literature. There is a 
quickness and fancy quite unexpected by those 
familiar only with the political history. It gener¬ 
ally reveals a straining after distant ideals, revel¬ 
ling in the sheer delight of wandering in the regions 
of the unknown. Danger and severe discipline 
seemed to give a freer flight to thought and imagi¬ 
nation. The literature of Poland has been greatly 
influenced by the political denationalization of the 
country. Prior to that event the country does not 
furnish us with any great or remarkable works. 

In Poland there is an absence of the legendary 
poetry and celebration of national heroes common 
among the Slav people. Throughout all oh Russia 
we meet an endless series of legends, called “ by- 
lini,’ ’ the ‘ ‘ things that were, ’ 1 in each of which there 
is a moral to leave the reader thinking. Some of 
these date earlier than the time of Vladimir, while 
** 302 


Literature and Art 


303 


others are not a quarter of a century old. The 
Ukraine is a rich source of folk-songs and folk-lore. 
With all the imaginative and idealistic characteris¬ 
tics of the Poles, we find little of this early folk-lore 
among the records that are left. If such existed, the 
works have not been handed down to the succeeding 
generations. They may have been lost or, perhaps, 
destroyed by the clerical authorities as irreligious. 
The upheavals caused by the Reformation, which 
appeared so prominently in the nations of Western 
Europe, had little effect in Poland. As a matter of 
fact it had little influence among any of the Slav 
people, with the exception of the Bohemians, who 
were greatly affected by the Hussite movement, 
which waged for at least two centuries in that coun¬ 
try. 

Much of the early literature in Poland was writ¬ 
ten in the Latin tongue, for that language was used 
by the court in its official utterances, as well as by 
the clergy. The Latin spoken and written in Poland 
is said to have been as pure as in Rome itself. One 
Martin Gallus wrote in that tongue as early as the 
twelfth century. Prior to the fourteenth century 
nothing in Polish is preserved, with the exception of 
some very insignificant fragments. A printing 
press had been established in Cracow as early as 
1474, but the first book in Polish was not printed 
until 1521. Hence we find two of the earliest 
writers who are worthy of mention, Nicholas Rej 




304 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


(1505-1559) and John Koshanovski (1530-1584), 
made their entry into the field of literature as Latin 
poets. The same may be said of Casimir Sarbi- 
ewski, who wrote in the seventeenth century, and 
was designated by the Pope as laureate. All of 
these writers seemed to write only for the nobles, 
for the peasantry were too ignorant to appreciate 
literature. Many of the clergy wrote Latin, and 
their themes are naturally the Church and the pres¬ 
ervation of the Catholic faith among the people. 
One priest, Orzechowski, was affected by the Refor¬ 
mation, and has left some stirring polemics. His 
writings were included in the Papal Index Expur- 
gatus, and he was declared to be “ a servant of the 
devil.’’ 

Peter Skarga, also a priest, delivered some won¬ 
derful sermons before the Diet, in which he did not 
mince the truth in dealing with the national weak¬ 
ness. He plainly foretold the downfall of their 
country as a consequence of their perpetual feuds. 
Skarga was a Jesuit and an ardent churchman, but 
he was a Polish patriot and opposed corruption in 
both secular and religious life. It would have been 
well for the Poles if they had listened to some of 
his fiery eloquence. He was the court preacher of 
Sigismund III, and has left behind a host of sermons 
and religious works. He is thought by Polish 
critics to have raised the prose style of the language 
to a high standard of excellence. He had much to 




Literature and Art 


305 


do with stamping out Calvinism and Orthodoxy in 
Poland. An idea of the influence of Protestantism 
at this time may be gained by a complaint of Skarga 
that two thousand Romanist churches had been con¬ 
verted to Protestant places of worship. A complete 
Protestant Bible had already been published at 
Brzesc and at Dantzig. Historical works in Latin 
also began to appear at this period. 

The name of the author of the Copernican System, 
which first taught that the sun was a fixed body and 
the centre of the solar system, is highly honoured 
among the Poles. Nikolaus Kappernik was born in 
Thorn in 1473, but he changed the spelling of his 
name to the Latin form of Copernicus, which was a 
common custom in that day. His father was a 
wholesale trader, and had Jewish ancestors. He 
was destined for the Church by his mother, and was 
educated in the University of Cracow. Although 
deeply religious, he was early attracted by mathe¬ 
matics, but also studied medicine. This was the age 
of great discoveries of new lands, and these things 
caused Copernicus to study the heavenly bodies. 
But the Church frowned upon any new theories, and 
Copernicus worked in secret. He taught mathemat¬ 
ics in Cracow and in Rome, where he also lectured 
on astronomy in 1500. He developed what later 
became trigonometry. He was devoted to the 
Church, and even preached for a while himself. 
But he was constantly studying astronomy. 



306 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


The Church would not allow Copernicus to speak 
in public, except on subjects approved by them. All 
the time, however, he was working on his great 
work, “ De Orbium Celestium Revolutionisms, ’’ 
which set forth his theories. This work was forty 
years in the making and completely upset the old 
Ptolemaic theory. During the greater part of this 
time there was not a day or night passed in which 
something was not added. It was practically fin¬ 
ished in 1530, but he withheld it from publication 
for fear of persecution. At last the manuscript was 
sent to Nuremberg, where there was greater free¬ 
dom, and he paid for the publication. It was dedi¬ 
cated to Pope Paul III. The printed book reached 
him in 1543, just a few days before his death, al¬ 
though he had up to that time enjoyed good health. 
He had just consciousness enough to recognize the 
printed form of the work of his life. The death 
angel thus removed the old astronomer from all 
danger of persecution for heresy, and now statues 
stand in his honour in many places. He is buried 
in the town of his birth. 

The period of political decay during the last cen¬ 
tury of national existence did not bring out a virile 
literature. Literature in general descended into the 
same abyss as the leaders of politics. A few patri¬ 
otic writers arose, but they could not make them¬ 
selves heard. One of the most energetic of these 
patriotic writers was Kollataj (1750-1812), He did 






i .1 %i\ nr f. 


NIKOLAUS COPERNICUS 









Literature and Art 


307 


his best to arouse the people from their lethargy. 
He fought in the defence of his country, and suf¬ 
fered eight years ’ imprisonment in an Austrian 
prison. Following the partitioning of Poland there 
comes a period when literary as well as national life 
passes through a period of stagnation. It is really 
not to be wondered at that a cessation of the intel¬ 
lectual development of the people followed such an 
event. Many of the writers were included in the 
large number of exiles who were sent away to Si¬ 
beria, and some of them were even banished to far¬ 
away Kamschatka. Some of these exiles afterwards 
escaped and emigrated to France and Italy; others 
lied to those countries upon their release from im¬ 
prisonment. A greater period of literary activity 
was destined to follow. 

The richest and most fruitful period in Polish 
literature began as early as the first quarter of the 
last century. Literature seemed to supply, to some 
extent, the feeling of deprivation brought about by 
the loss of a national existence. Especially was 
that true of poetry. Literature, likewise, gained in 
its spirit of exaltation, even if it lost in variety of 
theme. The literature of that period is idealistic in 
its tendencies, and rivals the French in its capri¬ 
ciousness. It has great vivacity, but little of the 
shrewd political sense which is characteristic of the 
Anglo-Saxon and Teutonic literature. Its idealism 
swept away all barriers, and it is filled with the most 



308 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


fantastic day-dreams. The poets seem to feel as 
though it was their mission to give the people a 
spiritual tonic and spiritual nourishment. One is 
surprised at the love of the ideal expressed in their 
writings, and the high level attained by them. The 
national character of Poland was well adapted to 
the development of the most intense spirit of ro¬ 
manticism. It swept away all barriers in its course. 
Mysticism also grew, both because of the native 
religious intensity and the oppression of the Rus¬ 
sian censor. 

Julian Niemcewicz, a friend of Kosciuszko, and 
his companion in captivity, is a writer of merit who 
is of interest to Americans. He was born in Lithu¬ 
ania in 1758, and lived to the good old age of four 
score and four years. On the disintegration of his 
country Niemcewicz fled to the United States, as he 
had been an active member of the four-years parlia¬ 
ment. In it his voice was always raised for the 
common people. He lived here for ten years and 
married a rich American widow. He returned to 
Warsaw and again entered into the political life, 
serving as secretary of the Polish Senate. After 
the disastrous revolution of 1830 he went to Paris, 
where he died in 1841. He wrote odes, epigrams, 
plays, fables and novels, and translated many works 
from English into his native tongue. A patriotic 
comedy, “ The Return of the Deputy,” achieved 
great success. His writings have not been so last- 




STATUE OF ADAM MICKIEWICZ, POSEN 


















































Literature and Art 


309 


ing, but they were very popular in their day and 
had great influence. Anton Malczewski (1793-1826) 
was the author of one of the most popular poems 
among the Poles, called “ Marja,” a tale of the 
Ukraine. Malczewski met Byron, who was about 
the same age, and was greatly influenced by the 
English poet. 

The man who is the recognized laureate of Poland 
is Adam Mickiewicz. A great monument has been 
erected to this poet in Cracow, which is really a trib¬ 
ute from the whole nation. Stately memorials have 
also been erected in Posen and Warsaw. He was 
born in a little town in Lithuania, not far from 
Vilna, in 1798, and was descended from an old noble 
family. Many of his productions are based upon 
the legends of his own country. One of these is 
“ Grazyna,” which describes the wars between the 
old knights and the heathen Lithuanians. Like 
many poets Mickiewicz had a romance which greatly 
influenced him. He had, for a long time, been in 
love with a Polish maiden, but his union with her 
was forbidden. This caused him to become a volun¬ 
tary exile, going to Rome, and he never again sought 
the lady. The memory of her, however, is immortal¬ 
ized in his chief work — “ Pan Tadeusz.” Mickie¬ 
wicz fell under the same influences as Byron, and 
there is quite a marked resemblance in the themes 
of some of his x^oems to those chosen by the English 
poet. In 1829, when Mickiewicz was only thirty 



310 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


years of age, he visited Goethe in company with a 
literary friend. He was greatly attracted by the 
German poet, but being intensely religious himself, 
he could not understand or appreciate the theology 
of Goethe. To him Goethe seemed to be without a 
God. There is an irresistible fountain of freshness 
in the writings of Mickiewicz which can be seen in 
the “ Ode to Youth ” and “ Faris.” 

Like many of the other literary lights of Poland, 
Mickiewicz fell under the political ban, and with 
several companions was arrested by the Russian 
authorities. He was in prison for a number of 
months, but afterwards served in some of the gov¬ 
ernment departments of Russia in a minor capacity. 
During this period he produced several works. His 
literary talent had already been recognized and he 
met Alexander Pushkin, the leading Russian poet 
at that time, and the two became fast friends. They 
were of just the same age. Each has left in verse 
an appreciation of the other, and they are now con¬ 
sidered the two greatest Slav poets. The best Rus¬ 
sian society was opened to him, even in the capital. 
Many high Russian ladies carried their enthusiasm 
so far as to take lessons in Polish from the poet. 

Julius Slowacki, born in 1809, was a contempo¬ 
rary of Mickiewicz. He had been educated in the 
same institution, the University of Vilna, and was 
employed in one of the government departments at 
Warsaw. In the university he imbibed the exalted 



Literature and Art 


311 


patriotism of the age. He became involved in the 
revolutionary movement of 1830, and left Poland 
upon its collapse, never again to return. These two 
contemporary poets both resided for a long time in 
Paris. But Slowacki seemed at all times to enter¬ 
tain a feeling of jealousy toward Mickiewicz, who 
had the greater reputation, and he refused to recog¬ 
nize the poetic ability in his rival. Mickiewicz 
thought there was no God in Slowacki ’s poetry, and 
criticized it on that account. Although the two occa¬ 
sionally met at the homes of mutual friends, they 
never developed an intimacy. One of the greatest 
of Slowacki >s works is “ Dziady,” and another 
notable one is “ The Plague in the Desert,” which 
is all tragedy. An Arab describes how his four sons, 
three daughters, and his wife were taken from him 
by the plague, and does so in simple and eloquent 
words. He revels in his descriptions of the horrible 
cruelty which characterized the age of which he 
writes. Perhaps the misfortunes of his own life 
caused him to dwell upon such themes as prisons, 
banishments and punishments. He pictures the 
scenes with which his own sad life was filled. He 
died in 1849. 

Sigismund Krasinski was another contemporary 
of these two writers. He was born in Paris in 1812, 
the son of a Polish noble. Despair seemed to fill his 
soul. He felt himself obliged to give up the woman 
he loved and marry the girl selected by his father, 



312 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


according to the Polish custom. His father had en¬ 
tered the Russian service, and was looked upon as 
a deserter of the patriotic cause by the Poles. Sig- 
ismund did not approve of this, but his loyalty to 
his father prevented him from following his own 
inclinations. He saw no hope for his fatherland, 
and found no consolation in religion. The latter 
part of his life was also filled with intense physical 
suffering, and he died before his fiftieth year. 
“ Temptation ” is one of his finest poems. His 
writings show a loftiness of soul, even if not a 
healthfulness. “ The Godless Comedy ” is another 
of his noteworthy works. 

“ Pan Tadeusz ” is pronounced by many critics 
to be the best poetical work in the literature of Po¬ 
land, and the only great epic of the last century. It 
is the attempt of this poet to give an epic which 
should show the national culture of his country dur¬ 
ing the period in which he himself lived. Entwined 
with a slender love story, it is a picture of Polish 
life at the time of Napoleon’s invasion in 1812. It 
portrays the life of the nobles, their luxury and dis¬ 
sipation, the family feuds and the excessive hospi¬ 
tality. In this way he broke away from the tradi¬ 
tions of most epic writers who have portrayed ages 
with which they were familiar only by reading. He 
has thus given us beings who existed, and most of 
whom still exist to this day. The sub-title of the 
poem is “ The Last Raid in Lithuania.” It treats 



Literature and Art 


313 


of the custom of determining litigation between 
families in that Grand Duchy. In descriptions of 
scenery Mickiewicz will rank with the best English 
poets, and in these he showed his greatest power. 
There is not a sight or sound to be met with in 
Lithuania that is not touched upon somewhere in 
his writings. 

“ In Pan Tadeusz,” says Mr. Brandes, u Poland 
possesses the only successful epic our century has 
produced. The good star of Mickiewicz ordained 
that this time he should not go back to the remote 
past in order to produce something epic. Hence 
he succeeded in seeing the heroic in his own 
age.” 

Mickiewicz had to endure poverty the greater 
part of his life, and especially after his marriage in 
1834. For that reason his later years were not very 
productive, and he wrote no more poetry. He 
taught and lectured to support his invalid wife and 
six children. He edited a newspaper in Paris at 
one time. In 1852 Napoleon III rescued him from 
dire poverty, and secured for him a position as 
librarian. In 1855 he was sent on a mission to Con¬ 
stantinople, having another Pole as his companion. 
Many Polish nobles were then living among the 
Turks. This mission seems to have been both liter¬ 
ary and political. The political part was to organ¬ 
ize a legion of the Poles living there to fight Russia. 
His mission was unsuccessful in every way. His 



314 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


system became undermined and he contracted the 
cholera, then raging there, and died on the 26th of 
November. His remains were eventually brought 
to the Cathedral in Cracow, where they rest among 
Poland’s other great men who have passed away. 
Great crowds attended the obsequies, and the Rus¬ 
sian government even relaxed its passport vigilance 
in honour of the occasion. 

Poland has had many historians during her long 
history, but the chief of all is Lelewal (1786-1861). 
Of German descent this man became an ardent Po¬ 
lish patriot. He was born in Warsaw, and spent his 
early life there and at Vilna. He wrote many his¬ 
torical works concerning his own and other coun¬ 
tries. During the revolution of 1830, Lelewal be¬ 
came one of the ministers in the temporary govern¬ 
ment. After the collapse of that movement, he went 
to Paris and later to Brussels. In the latter city he 
spent the last years of his life in extreme poverty. 
His literary labours were prodigious, but they af¬ 
forded him only a scant livelihood. His independ¬ 
ence caused him to refuse all aid from friends, for 
he would rather live in want than be dependent. His 
life is only another striking example of the calami¬ 
ties that have befallen many eminent literary gen¬ 
iuses. The Poles are rightfully proud of their 
greatest historian. 

The writer who is regarded most highly by the 
Poles of to-day is the novelist, Henryk Sienkie- 



Literature and Art 


315 


wicz, whose best-known work in America is “ Quo 
Vadis," that famous novel of the time of Nero which 
created such a stir when it first appeared. He was 
born in Siedlce, Russian Poland, in 1846. His 
mother was a poetess, and from her he undoubtedly 
inherited his literary taste and ability. Sienkiewicz 
lived in the United States for a while in the seven¬ 
ties, when he joined a colony established by Madam 
Modjeska, the famous actress, in California. As a 
result he has written some criticisms of America 
that have hurt the supersensitive. When the first 
Duma was elected in Russia, in 1906, Sienkiewicz 
was chosen as a member of that body, but he de¬ 
clined to serve, for he had already experienced, in 
a mild way, the displeasure of the Russian govern¬ 
ment. 

To the Poles Sienkiewicz is not known so much as 
the author of the popular novel, 4 4 Quo Vadis," but 
as the author of a number of volumes whose bases 
are the striking and romantic history of their own 
country. They look upon him as their first real in¬ 
terpreter to the world. He seems to consider it as 
his task to reproduce for the people the past, when 
Poland still existed as a nation, and he describes 
many of the scenes during the most unhappy period 
of Poland's history. The best known works are the 
three novels, “ With Fire and Sword," “ The 
Deluge," and “ Pan Michael," all of which treat of 
the resistance of the Poles to invaders. Upon these 




316 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


three works — known as the Trilogy — the author 
has really staked his reputation. “ Without 
Dogma ” is a psychological story; “ Children of the 
Soil ” deals with the hollowness of modern life; 
‘ ‘ The Family of Polaniecke, ’ 9 ‘ i The Knights of the 
Cross/ ’ and “ On the Field of Glory ” are the titles 
of three other works written by him. His writings 
in some respects might be compared to those of 
Dumas and Scott, but sometimes they become a 
little too tedious in their descriptions, for in length 
they compare with the works of Thackeray. His 
writings have had at least one good effect, for all 
Poles, who are able to read at all, read the novels 
of Sienkiewicz, and he writes in the purest Polish. 
Thus the Poles in Austria, Germany and Russia are 
drawn together by their love of this writer and their 
fascination for his writings, so that he has helped 
in no small measure to counteract the effects of both 
Germany and Russia to suppress and supplant the 
Polish tongue. 

If any one wishes to see a pen picture of Polish 
history, he can do no better than to read the three 
books of the Trilogy, all of which appear in good 
English translations. They show in a vivid way 
what a descriptive work does so inadequately, the 
excessive pride of the Poles in their birth, the law¬ 
lessness which existed in the Ukraine, the slight re¬ 
gard which both Poles and Cossacks had for human 
life, and the lack of cohesion which finally resulted 




Courtesy of Little, Brown, <fc Company. 

HENRYK SIEiVKIEWICZ. 






Literature and Art 


317 


in the disintegration of all national life. Battles 
and personal encounters filled with heroism stand 
out prominently on almost every page. He has 
gathered up national types and the threads of na¬ 
tional character, and has woven them together in 
these three works. He has painted human beings, 
not gods, although he has naturally laid great stress 
on the princely characteristics of the Polish nobles. 
Pan Yan, or Skrzetuski, is an instance of this. One 
interesting character in “ With Fire and Sword ” 
is old Zagloba, a sort of Polish Falstaff. He is the 
same sort of a boastful and crafty character, with a 
shrewd tongue, like unto Shakespeare’s creation, 
only he has real courage when compelled by force of 
conditions to exercise it, as his numerous encoun¬ 
ters prove. In appetite for food and drink he is 
even greater than Falstaff, for he could quaff a 
gallon of liquor with true Polish ease, and for that 
reason was the envy of many. 

In spite of the difficulties under which Polish lit¬ 
erature labours, owing to a dismembered country, 
the amount of it that appears is very large. There 
are four active centres — Cracow, Lemberg, War¬ 
saw and Posen. The smallest amount appears at 
the last named city, because it has been more com¬ 
pletely denationalized. Many editions of old and 
almost forgotten Polish authors are being issued 
under the patronage of the University of Cracow. 
A number of excellent reviews, fully up to the Eng- 



318 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


lish and German standards, are issued. Of these 
the Atanewm and Bibliotaka Warszawska, of War¬ 
saw, and the Przegland Wszechpolski, of Cracow, 
probably take the lead. The Tygodnik Illustoimny, 
published in Warsaw, is an illustrated weekly popu¬ 
lar with Poles the world over, and the Bluszcz (Ivy), 
of the same place, is an old journal for women. The 
Praca (Work), of Posen, is an able weekly, strongly 
anti-German in its tendencies. There are also many 
special periodicals, and the Polish Jews have a num¬ 
ber of journals of their own. 

Of the daily press the Gazeta Warszawski (War¬ 
saw Gazette) was founded in 1761, and is still influ¬ 
ential. The Kurjer Warsawski (Warsaw Courier) 
has reached an age of seventy-five years. It has a 
high literary standard, and exemplifies the very best 
in Polish dailies. It is edited in a dignified style, 
and contains all the news permitted by the Russian 
censor. The Dziennik Posnanski (Posen Daily) 
and Goniac Wielkopolski (Messenger of Great Po¬ 
land) are the leading patriotic Polish dailies of 
Posen. The Czas (Times), of Cracow, is one of the 
best known of the Polish press. It is an old and 
conservative newspaper, and is the organ of the rich 
nobility of Austrian Poland. The Nowu Reforma 
(New Reform) is liberal and patriotic, pro-Aus¬ 
trian but anti-German, and anti-Russian, and is 
widely read. In Lemberg appear the Slowo Polskie 
(Polish Word) and Kurjer Lwowski (Lemberg 



Literature and Art 


319 


Courier). The former is a high-class journal, lib¬ 
eral but anti-socialistic, while the latter is more 
radical. 

The artistic sense of the Poles extends to all 
branches of art. In music, painting, and the drama 
they are alike pre-eminent. The most noted painter 
was undoubtedly Jan Matejko, who was the painter 
of Polish history. No artist ever went to greater 
pains to be historically accurate. He would study 
his subject for weeks and months, and would go to 
any length in order to be correct in the portrayal 
of a historical character. Some of his canvases 
contain as many as a couple of hundred figures, 
each one a different type from all the others. “ The 
Prussians Bringing Tribute,’’ “ The Battle of 
Griinwald,” “ Sobieski before Vienna,” and “ The 
Demon of Skarga,” are four of his leading works. 
The last named received a noted French prize when 
exhibited in Paris in 1864. It portrays the priest 
Skarga predicting the downfall of the country if the 
internal anarchy is not ended. The varying expres¬ 
sion on the faces of his hearers is an interesting 
study. Matejko lived and worked in Cracow, where 
he founded the Academy of Painting. He was, as 
his works reveal, an ardent patriot, and most of his 
work was done without reward. 

Arthur Grottger is another painter whose works 
are highly appreciated by the Poles, but his pro¬ 
ductions are not numerous. The Polish painters of 



320 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


to-day are many and able. Their work will be found 
exhibited in most of the European salons. Some of 
them follow historical subjects, and others are in¬ 
fected with the craze for symbolical representation, 
which no one understands unless a key accompanies 
it. Melancholy subjects have influenced the paint¬ 
ers as well as the poets, and the horrors of exiles 
are frequently portrayed. 

The Polish soul is musical; its notes are charac¬ 
terized by sadness and melancholy. The same is 
true of Russian music, and it would seem that the 
physical characteristics of monotonous plains and a 
severe climate must have had a marked influence on 
the Slav nature. Infinite space and boundless land¬ 
scape have left their indelible impression. The 
mysticism and fatalism inherited from the East can 
be readily traced in music as well as in costume and 
architecture. The tragedy of history has likewise 
had its effect. But beauty runs through even the 
most melancholy minor note. The Poles feel their 
music as well as play it, and this can always be 
noted in the renditions of their orchestras. 

The most eminent Polish musician was Frederic 
Francois Chopin (1809-1849), whose mother was a 
Pole. The musician was born in Warsaw. His 
father was a Frenchman, which accounts for the 
French name. Although Chopin lived in Paris most 
of his life, he never forgot Poland, and her history 
inspired many of his compositions. He abandoned 




FREDERIC FRANCOIS CHOPIN. 
; 






































































Literature and Art 


321 


that country during the troubles of 1831, and his 
body still rests in a cemetery in Paris. 

Ignace Jan Paderewski is the greatest living Po¬ 
lish musician, and was born in Podolia in 1860. He 
has made several tours through the United States, 
and his compositions are well known here. What 
position he will eventually be given, it is probably 
too early to predict. But it will undoubtedly be a 
very high one, and the Poles are naturally proud of 
this man, who is intensely Polish in his sympathies. 
His opera “ Maura ” has received wide praise, and 
some of his shorter compositions have become 
household favourites. He lives in Switzerland the 
greater part of the time, and his home is always 
open to his fellow-countrymen. There are many 
other Polish composers, who are not quite so well 
known, and yet whose work will be heard through¬ 
out the entire civilized world. 

One of the greatest of modern tragediennes is 
claimed by the Poles. Helena Modrzejewska, a 
name she afterwards changed to Modjeska, was one 
of the world’s greatest actresses. She was born in 
Cracow in 1844, and was married at the early age 
of seventeen to a Polish actor, G. S. Modrzejewska, 
and soon left a widow. She afterwards married 
Charles Chlapowski, but was always known by the 
name of Modjeska. Her early reputation was made 
in her own country, but, becoming involved in 
trouble with the Russian government, the talented 



322 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


young actress came to the United States in 1876, 
and attempted to establish a colony near Los 
Angeles. She studied English and went on the 
American stage. From here she went to London, 
and took the world’s metropolis by storm. Her 
favourite role was Shakespearian characters, and 
her appearances in, English were almost wholly 
confined to such plays. But in Polish her repertoire 
was extremely varied. She usually returned to 
Cracow every two years, playing there and in the 
other Polish cities, until Warsaw was finally denied 
her. These appearances were for the love of her 
people rather than financial remuneration, for the 
returns could not compare with the English or 
American stage. She maintained a splendid coun¬ 
try home at Arden, near Los Angeles, where she 
spent the last few years of her life in practical re¬ 
tirement. She died in 1909, and her passing was 
mourned by all lovers of real drama. Madam Mod- 
jeska was gifted with great beauty in her younger 
days, and had a charming personality as well, which 
delighted those who knew her intimately. America 
is proud to claim her as an adopted daughter. 



CHAPTER XX 


THE POLES IN AMERICA 

Early immigrants — Millions of American Poles — Chief centres — 
Agriculturists — Spirit of independence — Education — Frugality 
— Americanization — Idealism — Eminent American Poles — Po¬ 
lish press — Fraternal organizations — Educational institutions — 
The duty of Americans. 

It was but natural that the Poles, being dissatis¬ 
fied with alien rule, should seek new homes. Kos- 
ciuszko and Pulaski, who fought for liberty under 
the American flag, were but forerunners of an im¬ 
mense army of that nationality who have crossed 
the Atlantic and sought homes under the Stars and 
Stripes. 

The revolutions of 1830 and 1863 in Russian Po¬ 
land, the revolution of 1846 in Austrian Poland, and 
that of 1848 in Germany, each started a fresh im¬ 
petus of emigrants. The total numbers who came 
in these early migrations, however, were very small 
when compared with the hordes of Polish immi¬ 
grants who have come in the last twenty years. The 
greatest incoming of Poles has been since the Rus¬ 
sian revolution of 1905. The dissatisfaction with 
the government, and the industrial depression re¬ 
sulting from the disturbed political conditions in 
the Russian Empire, were both contributing causes. 

323 


324 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


Some Poles have gone to South America and sought 
new homes in Brazil and Argentina, where they 
have become successful agriculturalists; a few Po¬ 
lish colonies will be found in Western Canada and 
in Canadian cities; but the number who have located 
either in Canada or South America is small in com¬ 
parison with those who have landed and established 
homes on the shores of the United States. 

It is estimated by a conservative Polish authority 
that to-day there are about two and a half million 
Poles living in the United States, although some 
authorities place the number as high as three mil¬ 
lions. Each year the number increases. The gov¬ 
ernment statistics are not very reliable, as Poles 
and Polish Jews have been confused by the enumer¬ 
ators. Some have likewise been classed either as 
Austrians, Russians, or Germans, because of the 
government to which they formerly owed allegiance. 
As a rule, these immigrants have come from the 
peasant class, with occasionally a few of the impov¬ 
erished nobles, for those who have means prefer to 
stay at home and enjoy the luxury of existence in 
the land of their fathers, on soil pregnant with the 
noble deeds of their ancestors, even if they are 
without the enjoyment of political liberty. More 
have come from Austrian Poland than the German 
sections, for, although there is greater political 
freedom in Austria than Germany, the industrial 
conditions in Galicia are not nearly so good. In 



The Poles in America 


325 


some instances almost entire villages of Galicia have 
migrated to this side of the Atlantic. At the pres¬ 
ent time about fifty per cent, of the Poles in the 
United States are from Russia, while thirty and 
twenty per cent, respectively were formerly Aus¬ 
trian and German subjects. 

Some of the Poles return to their former homes 
after a few years in this country, hut that number 
is only a very small per cent. More frequently the 
father comes across as a vanguard, and in a few 
months or years the rest of his little company fol¬ 
lows. We can hardly appreciate the mingled feel¬ 
ings of hope and fear that fill the breasts of these 
Polish immigrants as the vessel on which they travel 
approaches New York. Tragedies are of almost 
daily occurrence at Ellis Island, when some child, 
or perhaps the wife, is rejected because of trachoma 
or some other affliction. Those who do return to 
their former homes have usually given to the New 
World the best years of their lives; they go hack 
to Europe only after the years have begun to tell, 
or an accident has crippled them. A few send back 
a portion of their earnings to relatives left behind, 
but the Polish immigrants have probably brought 
in as much wealth to the land of their adoption as 
they send away. 

By far the greater part of the Polish immigrants 
centre in our cities, although at home they are agri¬ 
culturalists. The prospect of wages on the Amer- 



326 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


ican standard in the cities is so alluring that it over¬ 
comes their natural love of the soil. Most of them 
start in as common labourers on the streets, on the 
railroad tracks, or in factories, but even the wages 
of unskilled labour here seem very large to them. 
In the last few years, however, there has been a 
trend landwards. When a little money has been 
accumulated the Pole seeks some cheap land, so that 
he may again become a tiller of the soil. In Connect¬ 
icut and other parts of New England they are buy¬ 
ing up abandoned farm lands and making them pay. 
In Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin settlements of Poles 
will be found on the least desirable land. They buy 
this land because it is cheap, and they turn to profit 
soil that the American would pass by with disgust. 
They have been used to hard and patient toil, they 
live frugally, and they are satisfied with smaller 
returns for their labour. This class of Poles de¬ 
serves every encouragement that can be given 
them. 

In Chicago there are more Poles than in any other 
city in the world, with the exception of Warsaw, and 
possibly Lodz. The number has been estimated as 
high as a quarter of a million, but this number is 
probably too high, as Lithuanians have been classed 
with the Poles. Greater New York has the next 
largest Polish colony, with Pittsburg third, and 
Philadelphia, Buffalo, Milwaukee and Detroit fol¬ 
lowing along closely. Cleveland has a colony of 



The Poles in America 


327 


forty thousand or more Poles, and in Toledo there 
are in excess of twenty-five thousand persons of 
Polish birth. In the extreme west and in the south¬ 
ern states, with the exception of Texas, the Polish 
population is comparatively small, as they are 
gathered in the great industrial centres of the east¬ 
ern and north-central states. Pennsylvania, New 
York, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Massachusetts, 
Ohio, and New Jersey each contain a fairly large 
Polish population. 

Wherever you find a Polish colony, you will find 
it centred around a great and imposing Roman 
Catholic Church. The Poles of the New World, like 
their countrymen of the Old, are devoted adherents 
of this Church, and their life usually centres around 
it. Thus you will find here the Polish priest to he 
a man of great influence with his flock. Something 
is needed to neutralize to some extent at least the 
effects of the many saloons which are sure to be 
found in the same neighbourhood. The young Poles 
are surely becoming more independent in their re¬ 
ligious belief. They frequently resent what they 
consider the arbitrary actions of the Church authori¬ 
ties in removing an old or appointing a new priest. 
It is an outcropping of that spirit of independence 
which has characterized the Poles throughout their 
entire history. These differences have led to the 
formation of an independent Catholic Church, which 
has no fewer than sixty-five congregations. Many 




328 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 

openly proclaim themselves as of no religious faith 
whatsoever, while some have yielded to mission 
work conducted by Protestant missionaries. 

The majority of the Polish children attend the 
parochial schools of the Church, at least during their 
first school years, although many will be found in 
the public schools as well, who have never attended 
a parochial institution. The children learn readily, 
for the Slav mind is open to impressions and quite 
keen in its perception. I have talked with teachers 
in the Polish districts, and they uniformly speak 
favourably of their Polish pupils. They seem eager 
to learn the American way of doing things. As a 
rule, the children are taken out of the school quite 
young, as the parents are anxious to add them to 
the list of wage-earners as early as possible. Some 
of the girls take positions as servants, but more will 
be found in the factories where girl help is em¬ 
ployed. Many of the boys are apprenticed to vari¬ 
ous trades. This is unfortunate in many respects, 
for it certainly hinders the racial development; but 
we must remember that the greater number of Poles 
work at common labour, or in the lower priced fac¬ 
tory positions, and families are generally large, so 
that, with the high cost of living, it is necessary for 
the family income to be increased as much as pos¬ 
sible. 

It seems to be the aim of nearly every Polish 
American to own a home as soon as possible. They 



The Poles in America 


329 


are, as a rule, industrious and frugal, and live eco¬ 
nomically. The wives add to the family income by 
doing washing and scrubbing in addition to caring 
for the several children. If permitted, a few geese 
will be raised by the housewife. Most of the Poles 
do not remain renters very long, but as soon as they 
have saved up a little money they purchase a home 
on the instalment plan. Many buy a home even 
before they learn to speak the language — for they 
soon learn the value of a dollar. It is not long, in 
most cases, until the home is paid for, and then the 
family live in a cottage, which is generally modest, 
and oftentimes cheaply built; but it is at least their 
own property. Many of these cottages do not con¬ 
tain more than four or five rooms for the accommo¬ 
dation of a numerous family, but the same number 
would live in two rooms beneath a thatched roof in 
the land of their birth. Few Polish families will be 
found who do not have at least a little ready cash 
laid away somewhere in the home to be used for 
emergency. The stocking is a more likely recepta¬ 
cle than a bank. In this way they show a thrift 
which is commendable, and might be taken as a les¬ 
son for some of those who are born of purely Amer¬ 
ican parents. Earning the wages of a common 
labourer, these Poles will frequently save more 
money than native Americans whose income is two 
or three times as great, and, as an additional bur¬ 
den, they have the expense of a much larger family. 



330 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


They purchase few luxuries until their financial 
condition warrants what to them seems such an 
extravagance. 

The Poles as a rule acquire English quite readily, 
even if most of the older ones never learn to talk it 
without a very marked accent. The children, how¬ 
ever, even of immigrant parents, will be found to 
prefer English to the Polish. One can notice this 
in any Polish community, where a group of children 
may be seen who will address their elders and par¬ 
ents in Polish, but among themselves always use 
English. I have attended Polish entertainments 
where all the exercises were in that language, and 
yet the conversation going on around among the 
younger people was almost entirely in English. 
Young people, who have just declaimed or sung in 
Polish, join groups and immediately begin to con¬ 
verse in English, although all understand the Polish 
just as well. This is a convincing proof that Amer¬ 
icanization proceeds rapidly among the Poles, and 
that eventually the Polish language will become un¬ 
known among the younger ones. 

With the dropping of their language also will dis¬ 
appear the affection of the Poles for Poland as an 
entity, and their patriotism will become only a tra¬ 
dition. So long as a steady stream of emigration 
comes in, however, the language will remain, as no 
people are more jealous of their tongue. Polish is 
taught in all the parochial schools, and some Polish 



The Poles in America 


331 


leaders are endeavouring to have it taught in the 
public schools situated in the Polish districts. The 
trend is nevertheless inevitable. Even among those 
who use Polish almost exclusively, English words 
will be noticed, for there are many new terms con¬ 
stantly arising for which there are no Polish equiv¬ 
alents ; and then a fair quantity of American slang 
is sure to be mingled with the purer Polish. As 
soon as immigration slackens, the Americanization 
will proceed even more rapidly, as the ties binding 
those here with their compatriots in the homeland 
become weaker. 

I have talked to many American Poles, and there 
is an interesting stream of philosophy that runs 
through their conversation. The Poles have always 
been noted as idealists, and those characteristics 
can readily be recognized in their conversation. 
There is also an element of ambition among them, 
and one will always find plenty of petty politicians 
and embryo statesmen among them. It is always 
an easy matter to get a crowd out to a political 
meeting in a Polish community. Those present do 
not hesitate to openly express either their approval 
or disapproval of what the speakers say. In any 
community where there are Poles in a great number 
you will find some of that nationality holding munic¬ 
ipal positions, either in the city council or some of 
the departments. A few Poles have reached posi¬ 
tions in the state, and have made very creditable 



332 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 


officials. In fact, in the history of nearly every de¬ 
partment of onr government, Polish names will be 
found. 

Leopold Julian Boeck was an eminent educator, 
and laid plans for what is said to have been the first 
polytechnic institution in the United States. He 
was a member of the faculties of the University of 
Virginia and the University of Pennsylvania, and 
was honoured by President Grant with an appoint¬ 
ment to an educational commission. Edmund Louis 
Gray Zalinski, who is claimed by some as a Pole, 
served during the Civil War in the Union forces, 
and invented the pneumatic torpedo gun. He re¬ 
tired from the army in 1892, and died in 1909. He 
was from Russia. There were many other Poles 
who served in the Civil War, both as officers and in 
the ranks. One of these was Dr. Henry Kalussow- 
ski, who served with honour during the war and 
filled several departmental positions after its close 
until his death in 1894, at the ripe age of eighty- 
eight. He had taken an active part in the affairs 
of his own country before expatriating himself, and 
was expelled by Prussia for his part in a revolution¬ 
ary movement. Dr. Mary Elizabeth Zakrzewska 
became quite a celebrated woman physician before 
her death. John F. Smulski was at one time treas¬ 
urer of Illinois, but is now a prominent banker of 
Chicago. Ralph Modjeska, son of the famous ac¬ 
tress, is one of the leading bridge engineers of the 



The Poles in America 


333 


country. He was born in Cracow, the ancient capi¬ 
tal. 

There are more than half a hundred Polish news¬ 
papers published in the United States, of which 
nine are dailies. A number of these are very cred¬ 
itable periodicals. They will be found in Chicago, 
in New York, in Milwaukee, in Detroit, in Buffalo, 
in Toledo, and in a number of other cities. The 
Dziennik Chicagoski and the Dziennik Narodowy, 
both of Chicago, have the largest circulation among 
the dailies, while the Kuryer Polski, of Milwaukee, 
the Dziennik dla Wszyotkich, of Buffalo, and the 
Echo Polski of Toledo are among the leaders of the 
Polish press in their respective communities. Of 
the weeklies the Ameryka Echo, of Toledo, probably 
has the largest circulation, while the Zgodo, Narod 
Polski, and Gazeta Katolicka, of Chicago, the Wia- 
rus, of Winona, Minn., and the Patryota, of Phila¬ 
delphia, each have a large circulation. 

A number of the editors of these Polish period¬ 
icals have been quite noted men in Polish circles, 
and have contributed a great deal toward maintain¬ 
ing and cultivating the Polish nationality and lan¬ 
guage. Mr. A. A. Paryski, of Toledo, publisher of 
the Ameryka Echo and Echo Polski, has the largest 
Polish printing establishment in the United States, 
possibly in the entire world, from which as many 
as three million books and pamphlets are issued 
each year. These productions range from reprints 




334 Poland of To-Day and Yesterday 

of Polish authors to the Constitution of the United 
States or the Declaration of Independence, trans¬ 
lated into Polish. The total output of Polish liter¬ 
ature is so large that it speaks well for the intellec¬ 
tual craving among the Poles. The writer is in¬ 
debted to Mr. Paryski for some of the data and 
other information contained in this chapter. 

There are a number of fraternal organizations 
among the American Poles. The best known is 
probably the Polish National Alliance, with head¬ 
quarters in Chicago. It is not a secret order, but 
has lodges in many cities and maintains a system of 
fraternal insurance. It has a military organization 
also, and interests itself in education. Through its 
efforts a statue has been erected to Kosciuszko on 
Lafayette Square, Washington. At its headquar¬ 
ters has been gathered a collection of books in the 
Polish and Lithuanian languages that numbers 
many thousands. Perhaps not more than one or 
two larger collections can be found anywhere. The 
Falcons is another order which is rapidly spreading 
among the young people. It aims to interest the 
young Poles in the better things of life, very much 
after the methods of the Young Men’s Christian 
Association. Literary and musical organizations 
are encouraged, and in every way possible its aims 
are to develop the ethical side of human nature. Its 
methods and aims are of the very best, and the good 
results can already be traced. 



The Poles in America 


335 


There are a number of Polish colleges in the 
United States. The best known is the Seminaryum 
Polski, of Detroit, in which several hundred stu¬ 
dents are enrolled. This was established by the 
Rev. Joseph Dombrowski, a cultured Polish priest. 
St. Stanislaus College, in Chicago, St. John's Col¬ 
lege, in Philadelphia, are also very creditable insti¬ 
tutions. Other educational institutions are located 
at Erie, Pennsylvania, Cambridge Springs, Massa¬ 
chusetts, and Berlin, Canada. These educational 
institutions are a good indication that the spirit of 
the New World, a desire for the improvement of the 
individual, has permeated our Polish fellow-citizens, 
along with other nationalities. 

One thing that Americans must learn is to wel¬ 
come these new arrivals to our shores, so long as 
the gates are open to immigration. If they are to 
be fellow citizens, then we want them to be good 
citizens. We must lend them not only a sympathetic 
but a helping hand as well. Instead of looking down 
upon these Slavs, to whom liberty has heretofore 
been denied, and who seek new homes in a land 
where freedom reigns, we should encourage them 
in every good effort being made. Few of the Poles 
are idlers, most of them work hard, and there is 
much work to be done in our rapidly progressing 
country. 


THE END. 







APPENDICES 


I 

Suggestions to Travellers 

All sections of Poland are quite accessible to 
travellers. A start can be made either from Berlin 
or Vienna. There is direct railroad communication 
from Vienna to Moscow, which passes through Cra¬ 
cow, Lemberg, and Kiev, and this main line branches 
just before reaching Cracow on the way to Warsaw 
and St. Petersburg. Prom Berlin one can take the 
direct route to St. Petersburg, through Warsaw and 
Vilna, or he can take through trains from Berlin 
to Kiev and Odessa, which pass through Cracow and 
Lemberg. Between Cracow, Warsaw and Posen 
there is also direct service. Hence it is an easy 
matter for any one who wishes to visit Poland to 
stop at any or all of these interesting cities when 
on his way to or from the most important sections 
of Russia. The railroad accommodation will be 
found very comfortable, although the Russian trains 
are generally rather slow. On the international 
trains sleeping coaches and restaurant cars of the 
International Sleeping Car Company will generally 
be found. 


337 


338 


Appendices 


For any one who has not a knowledge of the Po¬ 
lish language the German is probably the most use¬ 
ful, although French will be found a great aid, espe¬ 
cially in Warsaw. In the leading hotels, in the im¬ 
portant Polish cities, some one will probably be 
found who can speak English, but German will be 
sure to be spoken. Many of the Poles understand 
that language, and nearly all of the Jews, at least 
those in business, can understand it and make them¬ 
selves understood in that tongue. Comfortable 
hotels will be found in all the leading cities, and the 
prices are not excessive. 

The money question is rather a troublesome one, 
like it is in all parts of Europe. In Austria the 
standard is the kroner, of the same value as the 
franc. In Germany the unit is the mark, which 
equals in value the English shilling. The rouble of 
Russia is worth almost fifty-two cents in American 
money. The kroner is divided into one hundred 
heller, the mark into one hundred pfennig, and the 
rouble is similarly divided into kopecks. There are 
good banks in all the cities and the traveller will 
have no difficulty with the ordinary forms of ex¬ 
change used in all parts of Europe. 

If one wishes to visit Russia, it is absolutely nec¬ 
essary to provide himself with a passport, and have 
it viseed before entering that country. The best 
plan is to have this vise by the Consul General of 
Russia, who is stationed in New York, and there are 



Appendices 


339 


then no further formalities to be gone through with 
until the Russian border is reached. It will be 
stamped by the officials on the border where the 
traveller enters, and the passport is good for six 
months from that date, without any additional of¬ 
ficial action. The passport will be called for at each 
town where a stop is made, and, when one wishes to 
leave the country, it is necessary to so inform the 
officials at the last stop, when a permit to cross the 
border will be granted. A small charge is made at 
each town, but the formalities are usually attended 
to by the hotel employees, so that the traveller has 
no inconvenience in connection with it. 



II 


The Pacta Conventa 

Each elected king of Poland was obliged to sub¬ 
scribe to the pacta conventa, and to make oath that 
he would obey each and every provision of it. This 
instrument thus became a sort of written constitu¬ 
tion guaranteeing liberty to the people, and partic¬ 
ularly to the nobility. The form of the pacta con¬ 
venta varied, and additional provisions were usually 
inserted whenever a new king was elected. The 
principal articles of this pacta conventa, as it ex¬ 
isted in the time of the Saxon kings, are as follows: 

That the kingdom shall be maintained in the right 
of electing its sovereign, and never become heredi¬ 
tary. 

No king shall be elected who is not a member of 
the Roman Catholic Church, and does not swear to 
continue in the same communion. 

Liberty of conscience shall continue inviolable. 

The queen shall not intermeddle in any affairs of 
state. 

No foreign troops shall be introduced into the 
kingdom without the concurrence of the Republic. 

Only gentlemen of considerable fortunes shall be 
employed in the embassies. 

340 


Appendices 


341 


No person shall hold two considerable offices, such 
as marshal and general, at the same time. 

No new economy shall be introduced at the king’s 
table, but the ancient shall be exactly observed. 

No person shall be qualified for naturalization 
who has not rendered important services to the 
Republic. 

The king’s court and guard shall be composed of 
natives of the kingdom. 

If the king marries, he shall take the advice of the 
Senate, in the choice of his consort. If she be a 
stranger, she shall not have above six foreigners in 
her court. 

Only the Latin and Polish languages shall be used 
in the king’s letters. 

The ancient liberties of the palatinates shall re¬ 
main inviolable. 

A general Diet is to be convened every two years, 
or oftener if it is necessary. 

The duration of each Diet shall not exceed six 
weeks. 

All the privileges of the Universities of Cracow 
and other cities, as well ecclesiastical as secular, and 
all articles agreed upon oath at the coronation of 
the kings Henry, Stephen Batory, Sigismund, Wla- 
dislas, John Casimir, and others, shall be renewed; 
and in case of violation the inhabitants of Poland 
and Lithuania shall be free and discharged from all 
obedience. 



Ill 


Bibliography 

The number of books upon Poland available for 
the English reader is not very large. The following 
list will be found fairly complete: 

Antin, Mary: The Promised Land. Boston, 1912. 

An interesting autobiography which reveals vividly the peculiari¬ 
ties of the Ghetto and its dwellers. 

Bain, R. Nisbit: The Last King of Poland. London, 1909. 

A graphic account of this unfortunate monarch and the decadence 
of Poland. 

Baskerville, Beatrice C.: The Polish Jew. London, 1906. 

A good treatise of the social and economic condition of the Jews 
in Russian Poland. 

Brandes, George: Poland; a Study of the Land, People and Litera¬ 
ture. London, 1903. 

Valuable for the information it gives upon Polish literature and 
literary workers. 

Coxe, William: Travels into Poland, Russia, Sweden, and Denmark. 
London, 1784. 

This English historian travelled through Poland with hia eyes open 
and vividly described what he saw. 

Fletcher, James: The History of Poland. New York, 1831. 

A good history. 

Frederic, Harold: A New Exodus; a Study of Israel in Russia. 
London, 1890.' 

Subject well expressed in title. 

Hordynski, Joseph: History of the Late Polish Revolution. 1832. 

This work describes in detail that bloody struggle. 

Jewish Encyclopedia. New York, 1907. 

The sketches of the Jews in Poland and the Talmud are well worth 
reading. 

Krasinska, the Journal of Countess Francoise: English translation. 
Chicago, 1896. 


342 


Appendices 


343 


An extremely interesting human document, showing Polish so¬ 
ciety and life in the years 1759-62. 

Moltke, Count von: Poland; an Historical Sketch. Translated 
from the German. London, 1885. 

A valuable contribution by the famous German. 

Morfill, W. R.: The Story of Poland. New York, 1893. 

An excellent history, with interesting comment on both people 
and customs. It also contains a list of original Polish authorities. 
Pennell, Joseph: The Jew at Home. New York, 1892. 

A vivid description of Polish Jews and their idiosyncracies. 
Potocka, Memoirs of the Countess. New York, 1900. 

Another work of human interest treating of the Napoleonic period 
of Poland’s history. 

Rombaud, Alfred: The History of Russia. 2 Vols. New York, 1879. 
Gives valuable light on some phases of Polish and Lithuanian 
history. 

Saxton, L. C.: The Fall of Poland. 2 Vols. New York, 1852. 

The author has made an exhaustive research into the causes of 
Poland’s decay. 

Stephens, J. L.: Incidents of Travel in Poland. New York, 1839. 

A good picture of Polish life at that period. 

Van Norman, Louis E.: Poland; the Knight among Nations. New 
York, 1907. 

An excellent sketch of the Poles of to-day from a sympathetic 
standpoint. 





INDEX 


Adalbert, St., 24, 25, 201. 
Agriculture, 219, 224, 266. 
Alexander, 44. 

Alexander I, 145, 147, 154, 157, 
192, 217. 

Alexander II, 162. 

Alexander III, 232. 

Alexandrovo, 199, 222. 

Alphabet, 6. 

Americanization of Poles, 330- 
331. 

Archbishop, the, 9. 

Aristocracy, 244 et seq. 

Argentina, 324. 

Armenians, 18, 220. 

Art, 302 et seq. 

Aryans, 18. 

Astronomy, 305. 

Augustus II, 15, 80-83, 86-87. 
Augustus III, 90-91. 

Austria, 3, 94, 96, 139, 156, 161, 
162, 167, 170, 206, 212 et seq., 
237, 286. 

Baltic Provinces, 31, 207. 
Banquets, 255. 

Bar, Confederation of, 109, 111. 
Barbarism, 254-255. 
Bartholomew, St., Massacre of, 5. 
Batory, Stephen, 53-57, 169. 
Beggars, 171, 279. 

Berlin, 183, 199. 

Bialolenski, 160. 

Bibliography, 342-343. 

Bismarck, Prince, 206, 210. 

Black Sea, 121. 

Boeck, Leopold, 332. 

Bohemians, 303. 

Boleslaw I, 5, 25-27. 

Boleslaw II, 5, 28-29, 172. 
Boleslaw III, 30. 

Boleslaw IV, 31. 


Brazil, 324. 

Brody, 288. 

Bromberg, Province of, 200. 
Bronislaw, 148. 

Bug River, 124. 

Bulgarians, 6. 

Bund, the, 296. 

Burghers, the, 9. 

Canada, 324. 

Carnival, 261-262. 

Carpathian Mountains, 167, 271- 
272 

Casimir, John, 62-66, 277. 

Casimir I, 28-29. 

Casimir II, 31. 

Casimir III, the Great, 33-35, 
172. 

Casimir IV, 42-43. 

Castellans, the, 15. 

Catherine the Great, 92-93, 99, 
101, 103, 107, 119, 121, 122, 
126, 141. 

Censorship, Russian, 228-229. 
Characteristics, 7, 226, 259, 320. 
Charles XII, King of Sweden, 
82-83. 

Cheder, the, 299. 

Chicago, 326. 

Chocim, 70. 

Chopin, F. F., 320. 

Christianity, Conversion to, 23. 
Chroniclers, early, 22. 

Church, the, 8, 113, 170-171, 283, 
306, 327. 

Churches, 194, 276. 

Classes, 8. 

Cleveland, 326. 

Colonization Commission, 208- 
209. 

Confederation, a, 12. 

Constitution, new, 16, 119. 




346 


Index 


Copernicus, Nikolaus, 2, 187, 

305-306. 

Corruption, 11. 

Cossacks, 54-55, 60, 63, 184. 
Costumes, 225, 257, 267, 273. 
Courland, 87, 223, 285. 

“ Court,” the, of nobles, 250-251. 
Courts, 193. 

Courtiers, 249, 251. 

Cracow, University of, 168. 
Cracow, 20, 32, 136, 147, 162, 
166 et seq., 204, 219, 275, 286, 
289, 303, 317. 

Crimean War, 162. 

Crosses, 225. 

Customs, 195, 263, 288. 
Czartoryski, the, 91, 99, 100, 103, 
104, 105, 106, 114, 131, 158, 
160. 

Czartoryski Museum, 175. 
Czechs, the, 6, 213. 

Czentochowa, 230, 277-279. 

Dancing, 261. 

Dantzig, 17, 42, 46, 98, 206, 305. 
Decadence, 13-14, 121, 306. 

Diet, the, 9, 10, 43, 48, 76, 97, 
104, 117, 127-129, 158; the 
Dumb, 129; the Four Years’, 
117. 

Dissidents, the, 60, 87, 107, 138. 
Divorce, 292. 

Dmitri, the false, 58. 
Dombrowski, J. H., 151. 

Dorpat, 207. 

Dresden, 91. 

Drinking, 195, 256. 

Drinking-cups, 256-257. 
Dubienka, battle of, 124. 

Duma, 234. 

Earlocks, the, 280. 

Easter, 262, 270-271. 

Education, 115, 227, 255, 328, 
335; of Jews, 299-301. 
England, 98. 

Estates, 260. 

Extravagance, 245-248, 251-254. 

Falcons, the, 334. 

Families, 258. 

Florian Gate, 175. 

Food, 266. 

Foreign troops, 15-16. 


Four Years’ Diet, 117. 

France, 98, 145. 

Franklin, Benjamin, 133. 
Frederick William, Emperor, 122, 
123, 126. 

Frederick the Great, 93-94, 96, 
103, 114, 119. 

Frugality of peasants, 328. 

Galicia, 33, 150, 215, 218, 271, 
324, 325. 

Gallus, Martin, 303. 

Gardens, the Saxon, 192. 

Gedimin, 38-39, 240. 

Geese, 166, 329. 

Genealogies, 258. 

Geography, 1 et seq . 

Germany, 3, 199 et seq., 227. 237, 
282. 

Ghetto, the, 188, 289. 

Gnesen, 23, 26, 200, 281. 

Goorals, the, 272-274. 

Grodno, 10, 126, 127, 141, 223. 
Grochov, 160. 

Grottger, Arthur, 319. 

Griinwald, battle of, 41. 

Halat, the, 294. 

Hanseatic League, 42. 

Hedwiga, 35. 

Henry, 49-53. 

Holidays, 270. 

Holy Synod, 192, 237. 

Hospitality, 253, 261. 

Hungarians, 213, 214. 

Huss, John, 2, 214. 

Ibiany, 164. 

Idealism, 7, 331. 

Individualism, 7, 8, 218, 327. 
Interregnums, 53. 

Invasions, 18. 

Ivan the Great, 44. 

Ivan the Terrible, 54. 

Jadwiga, 35, 41. 

Jagiello, 5, 36, 39-41. 

Jagiello Library, 175. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 144. s 
Jesuits, 56, 86, 113; influence of, 
20 . 

Jews, 19, 34, 177, 179, 180, 188- 
189, 201, 240, 242, 280 et seq. 





Index 


347 


John Albert, 43. 

Joseph II, 95. 

Kahal, the, 284-285. 

Karaites, 301. 

Kiev, 79, 223. 

Kings, election of, 10, 48, 174. 
Kishinev, 292, 293. 

Knights, Teutonic, 32, 45. 
Kollataj, 306. 

Konigsburg, 199. 

Korybut, Michael, 67-68. 
Kosciuszko, Thaddeus, 2, 115, 
124, 131 et seq., 152, 169, 187, 
285, 334. 

Koshanovski, John, 304. 
Krasinska, Countess, 90, 248- 
249. 

Krasinski, Sigismund, 311-312. 
Kremlin, the, 229. 

Krukoviecki, General, 161. 

Labor Unions, 233. 

Landscape, 225. 

Language, 6, 203, 209, 218, 228, 
330, 338. 

Latin, 34, 303. 

Laws, 25. 

Lazienki Park, 192. 

Legends, 302-303. 

Leipzig, battle of, 155. 

Lelewal, the historian, 314. 
Lemberg, 209, 219, 221, 268, 289. 
Letts, 37. - 

Liberum Veto, the, 8, 11-12, 44, 
64, 90, 106. 

Lithuania, 16, 37 et seq., 76, 141, 
154,159, 223, 239, 243, 308, 312. 
Literature, 218, 302 et seq. 

Lodz, 191, 230, 237. 

London, 288. 

Louis of Hungary, 35. 

Lwow, see Lemberg. 

Lutherans, 20. 

Maceiowice, battle of, 139. 
Magyars, 254. 

Malachowski,, 404. 

Malazewski, Anton, 309. 
Manufacturing, 230. 

Maria Theresa, 94-95. 

Mariavites, the, 235-237. 

Marie Louise, Queen, 62, 65. 
Marriage, 244, 263, 267. 


Marriage brokers, 291. 

Markets, 177-179. 

Matejko, Jan, 204, 319. 
Mickiewicz, Adam, 177, 309, 313. 
Mieczyslaw 1, 5, 23-25. 
Mieczyslaw II, 27. 

Mieczyslaw III, 31, 281. 

Mindvog, 38. 

Mir, the, 247. 

Modjeska, Helena, 176, 315, 321- 
322, 332. 

Mohammedanism, 214. 
Mokranowski, 104. 

Money, 338. 

Moscow, 59, 154, 155, 186, 221, 
229. 

Music, 320-321. 

Mustapha, Kara, 71. 

Mykva , the, 291. 

Nagaika, the, 185. 

Napoleon, 145, 150-156, 241. 
Napoleon III, 162, 313. 

Narva, 82. 

National League, the, 233. 

Neiss, 95. 

Newspapers, 317-319; in United 
States, 333. 

New York, 288, 301, 325, 326. 
Nicholas I, 159. 

Nicholas II, 234. 

Niemcewicz, Julian, 308. 

Nijni Novgorod, 187. 

Nobles, 14, 219, 244 et seq. 
Nuremberg, 306. 

Odessa, 183, 221, 292, 293. 

Ohio, 327. 

Olgerd, 39. 

Orthodox Church, 20, 235. 
Orzechowski, 304. 

Pacta Conventa, the, 49, 81, 340. 
Paderewski, Ignace Jan, 321. 
Palatines, the, 246, 254. 

Pale of Settlement, the, 292. 
Pan-Germanism, 206-207, 215. 
Pan-Slavism, 207, 215. 

“ Pans,” the, 247. 

Partitions, 16; the first, 98; the 
second, 130; the third, 141. 
Paryski, A. A., 333. 

Passover, the, 293. 

Passports, 222, 231, 238, 338-339. 







Index 


348 


Patriotism, Polish, 20-21. 

Paul I, 50, 142. 

Peasants, 224, 227, 247-248, 265 
et seq. 

Peasy, the, or earlocks, 280. 
Perkun, 38, 40. 

Peter III, 102. 

Peter the Great, 82, 84, 85. 
Philadelphia, 326, 335. 
Photographing, 189. 

Piasts, the, 23, 35, 66. 

Pilgrimages, 277-279. 

Plante, the, 175. 

Podolia, 109, 271. 

Pogroms, the, 293, 296. 

Poland, Kingdom of, 223 et seq. 
Poles, emigration of, 149. 

Poles, origin of, 5. 

Poles in United States, 169. 

Polish Legions, the, 151, 154, 155. 
Polish National Alliance, 334. 
Poltava, 85. 

Poniatowski, Joseph, 123, 124, 
126, 135, 155. 

Posen, 20, 22, 27, 152, 168, 201- 
204, 211, 282, 283, 317. 

Potocki, the, 114, 116, 122, 123. 
Poverty, 14-15, 167, 279. 

Praga, 140, 160, 185, 193, 285. 
Prague, 25. 

Priests, 276. 

Protestants, 19-20. 

Pulawy, 100. 

Printing, introduction of, 43. 
Prussia, 32, 33, 94, 96, 122, 128, 
138, 150, 156. 

Prussians, the, 26, 42. 

Pulaski, Casimir, 109-111. 
Pushkin, Alexander, 4, 310. 

Rabbinat, the, 298. 

Rabbis, 285, 298. 

Races in Poland, 18. 

Raclawice, battle of, 137, 148. 
Radom, 44. 

Radzewill, Prince, 160. 
Reformation, the, 46, 57, 275, 
303. 

Reichsrath, the Austrian, 213, 
214. 

Reichstag, 204. 

Rej, Nicholas, 303. 

Religion. 19-20, 86, 171, 194, 216, 
260, 274-279; of Jews, 296-301. 


Reval, 207. 

Revolutions, 233. 

Riga, 207. 

Russia, 4, 20, 93, 96, 104, 128, 
135, 183, 184, 223 et seq., 286, 
291-294; revolution of 1830, 
159-161; of 1863, 162-165. 
Russians, the, 6, 265. 
Russo-Japanese War, 233. 
Ruthenians, 212. 

Rye, 224. 

Rynek, the, 176, 177. 

St. Petersburg, 96, 101, 141, 142, 
183, 225. 

Salt, mines of, 215-217. 
Sarbinewski, Casimir, 304. 
Schools, 221. 

Scythes, 224. 

Serfdom, 8. 

Senate, the, 9. 

Shadchan, the, 291. 

Sienkiewicz, Henryk, 63, 234, 278, 
314-317. 

Sigismund I, 45. 

Sigismund II Augustus, 45-47, 
169, 172. 

Sigismund III, 57-61, 186. 

Silesia, 31. 

Skarga, Peter, 304-305. 

Slavs, the, 6, 204, 213, 274. 
Slowacki, Julius, 310-311. 
Smolensk, 79, 223. 

Smulski, John F., 332. 

Sobieski, John, 2, 67, 79, 151, 173, 
196, 220. 

Stanislaus II, 99 et seq., 174, 192; 

abdication of, 141-142. 
Stanislaus, St., 29, 172. 

Stanislaus Leszczynski, 83-85, 
87-89. 

Stare Miasto, 187. 

Strikes, 232-234, 296. 

Sukiennice, the, 176. 

Suvarov, General, 139, 140. 
Sweden, 58, 64, 82, 277. 

Sdachta, the, 247. 

Talmud, the, 290, 291, 299. 
Targowice, 123. 

Tartars, 53. 

Tatra, 271-274. 

Teuton, the, 204. 

Teutonic Knights, 205. 




Index 


349 


Texas, 327. 

Theatre, the, 176, 220, 321- 

322. 

Thorn, 44, 46, 86, 200, 222. 
Toledo, 327, 333. 

Toleration, Religious, 19, 46. 
Travelling, 337-338. 


Ukraine, the, 79, 85, 116, 221, 
303. 

Uniates, the, 60, 161. 

United States, 144, 231, 301; 

Poles in, 323 et seq. 

Utopia, a, 13. 


Vengrov, 164. 

Vienna, 71-74, 89, 156, 166, 206, 
337; Congress of, 156. 

Villages, 268, 269, 288. 

Vilna, 39, 154, 225, 241-243. 
Vistula River, 17, 169, 183. 
Vitovt, 40. 

Vladimir, 302. 

Vola, the, 139, 161. 

Voltaire, 92, 93. 


Wages, 230. 

Wawel, the, 33, 78, 156, 169, 170, 
172,^219. 


Warsaw, 10, 20, 39, 48, 68, 104, 
112, 135, 139, 152, 157, 161, 
162, 285, 289, 317; Grand 
Duchy of, 153-156. 
Washington, General, 133. 
Wealth, 251-254. 

West Point, 134. 

Wieliczka, salt mines of, 18, 215- 
217. 

Wigs, 290. 

Willanow, 77, 1^0-198. 

William II, 202, 206. 

Windmills, 225. 

Wladislas the Short, 32-33. 
Wladislas 1, 30. 

Wladislas II, 31. 

Wladislas III, 41. 

Wladislas IV, 59, 61-62, 186. 
Women, 178, 179, 189, 204, 225, 
262-264, 266-269; Jewish, 289- 
292. 

Yaroslav, 26, 28. 

Yiddish, 298. 

Zalinski, E. L. G., 332. 

Zamek, the, 163, 186, 187. 
Zamoiski, Count, 163. 

Zbaraz, 63. 

Zgirz, 237. 

Zielence, battle of, 124. 


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